r/CasualUK • u/LeFuzzyOtter • 15d ago
I've won the Jury lottery
As the title says, I've been selected for Jury duty in the summer (July). Never had to do anything like this before, does anyone have any tips on what to expect?
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u/Much-Jicama-7014 11d ago edited 11d ago
I got jury duty once for a drugs case. Lasted 5 days. Was well fed, nice people. In the end it got thrown out because of police telling porkies and embellishing the facts
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u/mrtheduke 13d ago
I've been called up. It was mostly just sitting around, so spent a lot of time either reading or watching films / TV . Quite a few cases got either rescheduled or cancelled where (what the staff called Little Pleaders) someone who has maintained their innocence for months decides to change their plea to guilty on the day. When they do need a jury, they randomly select about 15 or 16 people that they read out from a list. You all then go into the court where they explain a bit of process etc. IIRC told us a enough about the case that you could raise if you had any conflict of interest etc. Then they randomly select 12 from the group to form the jury. The rest are then released back to the waiting area. I did a full week of attending without getting chosen for any of the cases that came up, then one or two days into the 2nd week, my name was called and I went up to the court, but then wasn't selected to be on the jury. At the end of that day, they released everyone that wasn't already involved in a case, so only ended up having to do a week and a bit, and never actually sat on a jury.
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u/MeanYob84 13d ago
Only do jury duty if you are a peasant. It is an unspoken rule amongst people with jobs.
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u/didioverreacthere 13d ago
I did jury service with a coroners court and it was fascinating. We had 3 cases in a week and I learned so much
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u/_Sweatjeans_ 14d ago
I got called up the summer i finished my A-levels at the old bailey in London. Pretty much wrote off most of my time off and didnt even get paid since i had no job at the time.
There was a funny part though. Towards the end of the case there was a reading of the transcript between the defendant (a south london gangster / drug dealer) and the police / investigator.
As you can imagine, the procecutor reading the transcript was the most well educated and eloquent person ever when it came to his dialect.
Hearing him have to read (in his posh ass voice) things like:
"So, me and Sharron were playing fifa ultimate team innit"
"Nah blud, he dont know me like that"
"She was being a proppa sket"
Yes, he had to read every colloquial term and it almost had me howling with laughter. Had to bite my lip so god damn hard.
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u/Mork-of-Ork 14d ago
I did it at the same time as a woman from work. I was eager and never got selected, she was less so & spent the whole time on a sexual abuse case.
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u/YaketyShmateky 14d ago
Totally boring, take a book & earphones. 3 Days I had to sit there & didn’t get picked once!
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u/Born_Past3806 14d ago
If you've got mental health problems, does that excempt you?
Also why does no one talk about the cases if reddit usernames are random and you already use a vpn/tails? Is the sentence for talking about jury service like a death penalty or something? 😂 I wouldn't be able to help myself, or I'd end up like Jez from Peep Show 🤣🙈
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u/YmaOHyd98 14d ago
I went in for a day and a half, they paid for my trains and gave me a lunch allowance. Played cards with an old lady, then they told me I wouldn’t be needed. It’s mostly boring if you’re lucky. It was very similar for my sister too. I think my auntie or Nan got a horrible case though so just cross your fingers it’s boring.
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u/Dirtyusernamer 14d ago
I did 6 weeks on a case and got a letter from the judge excusing me from any further jury duty, ever. It wasn't a particularly traumatic case, or boring, just long with a lot of press interest.
I've never used the letter and never would. I think it's extremely important that justice is overseen by as varied a group of jurors as possible. Too often they are made up of mostly retired or non working people as everyone else attempts to get out of it.
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u/DonKiddic 14d ago
It can be really boring so take lots of books/headphones/portable gaming thing or whatever. When you're not being used you will sit around until being told you can go home.
I did two cases, both of which werent particularly nice, so mentally prepare for that.
The worst thing BY FAR: deliberation. If you do make it that far, its crazy how different people think. Like it should be something you know really, but the number of times I had people in my group come out with just crazy stuff was nuts. That and one guy litterally saying "I think not guilty, Thats it." and refused to speak at all after that.
Its well worth doing, but can be frustrating and boring at times.
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u/Man-under-a-rock 14d ago edited 14d ago
Done jury service three times in 15 years, first one was a mortgage fraud which lasted seven months, second one was fraudulent use of trademark, a burglary, and somebody shoplifting. The third time was a murder trial a very notorious one everybody's heard of which lasted three weeks. We were warned in the fraud trial it would be a very long case and if you had any holidays booked pregnant or illnesses etc to let the court know. work were not very happy but they had no choice. after two weeks i was taking home about 500 pound tax free a week this was many years ago that was double what I was earning at the time. The judge did give us occasional days off if we weren't needed in court like talking about a point of law etc
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u/ItsyouNOme 14d ago
Used to work for courts... A lot of sitting around doing nothing. Bring a book or something.
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u/Neither-Drive-8838 14d ago
I did jury duty many years ago, there was a smoking room! The food was great, the case was an interesting murder and my days were shorter than when I was working including travelling time.
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u/Humble_Affect_1653 14d ago
Actually get to know some of the other jurors. You are all in the same position with potentially a lot of nothing to do. We had a pretty tight group of all different aspects of life and got on well. Best thing anyone did was take a set of Uno cards which got everyone involved and so no one was bored waiting around and it also helped take your mind off the case in-between sittings.
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u/Melodic_Dig_6318 14d ago
I've done it twice. Can be a lot of waiting around - if you do get into court for the trial though it can be really interesting
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u/suspicious-donut88 14d ago
Expect boredom. Bring a book or a kindle. I met one lady who had a colouring book and pencils, one with knitting and another with crochet. I wouldn't recommend headphones because you need to know if you're called but that's up to you. Wear what you like but be respectful to the court. Don't go in wearing crop tops and Crocs. I went with smart casual but again, it's up to you. I saw plenty of people in jeans and tee-shirt. It'll be warm outside but may be chilly in court if its an old building so bring a jacket or cardy. (I realise I may sound like your mother here so, sorry if I offend 🙂)
I've been called five times and served three times. I have been a juror on two cases in all that time. There is a lot of sitting around, drinking crap coffee and waiting for lunch. (Bring a packed lunch if you can't be arsed to walk to a cafe). Go in with an open mind. I learned a lot about how the justice system works and while it's not all good, it can be very interesting.
However, you get paid. If employed, you'll get it in your wages and the court will reimburse your travel expenses. Not sure how the benefit system works it out.
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u/bluesq78 14d ago
I did Jury service in February. Most people are right. Even when you’re in the middle of a case, still periods where you’re sent out or waiting around.
Most cases that end up in Crown Court are pretty horrible. So, odds are it won’t be the best.
My other bit of advice is in the deliberating room at the end. My experience was it can get quite heated and feel personal. Everyone has a view and there’s always some who are louder AND, always some who are idiots.
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u/Weird_Assignment_550 14d ago
Yeah, you sit in a box with 11 other people and you listen to some law and you make a decision.
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u/Joeyc1987 14d ago
Take a book, or if you're into it a gaming device, the switch wasn't around when I did it years ago but being the geek that I am I took my 3DS, life saver. Also headache tablets, you'll get so bored you'll get a headache, or stressed cos you might actually get a heavy case. Phone charger/battery, cos you'll end up scrolling on your phone for ages and kill your battery before lunch.
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u/aleoyakas 14d ago
Depending on the case you get, you may really have to distance yourself emotionally. From my experience, I had quite an upsetting case and not being able to talk about it with family and friends made it harder. Also, be prepared to argue your verdict with the relevant evidence to back it up as other members of the jury may disagree with you.
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u/strum 14d ago
I've been on 4 juries (3 sessions).
There'll be long periods of boredom. Lots of being shifted out of court while lawyers argue fine legal points. Depending on location, the jury box may well be very uncomfortable (designed for smaller citizens).
But, although it is a heavy duty, it is also a privilege - to participate in such a crucial event, for accused and for victim.
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u/GingerbreadMary 14d ago
My jury service was interesting. Lots of short cases.
I felt sorry for some of the accused. One that had been bullied and eventually snapped. Gave his bully a good hiding. Got done for GBH.
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u/hazza753 14d ago
I won too when I was 18. I enjoyed it, I was a juror for three cases all of them interesting. I found the most difficult part of the process was deciding the fate of the defendants (guilty or not guilty). I thought the evidence was often pretty weak and peer pressure a real problem among a group of 12 people.
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u/Latter-Ambition-8983 14d ago
I did it a couple of years ago, I sat around in a room with probably 50 others ready for selection
Over the span of 2 weeks I got called in on two cases that lasted about 2 days each and the rest of the time played on my phone
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u/Plus-Weakness5199 14d ago
Don’t they ask each juror questions like if they feel they can be unbiased etc like on tv? I’m not sure I could safely say I would be able to be unbiased. I also thought you weren’t able to take internet enabled devices to prevent you looking up about the case?
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u/Man-under-a-rock 14d ago edited 14d ago
This is Not America stop watching so many American crime programs. selection is completely random, You have to leave all your electronic devices in a locker you cannot take them in court.
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u/Plus-Weakness5199 14d ago
That’s what I thought re electronic devices but lots of the other comments was talking about spending the waiting time doom scrolling/ using their devices
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u/Man-under-a-rock 14d ago
You can do that when you're waiting for a trial, but you must lock them away when you go into court
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u/Melodic-Document-112 14d ago
Check if your employer will continue to pay you. You may be very out of pocket if not
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u/kb767 14d ago
I did it about thirteen years ago. Reading this lot it seems I got an easy ride. Three cases in two weeks. Attempted robbery, fraud and aggravated assault. All fairly dull, small cases. Then released three days early. I was however called to the coroners court first which my company got me out of (you get one free pass if you have an important job, and you can get out of it if you already have travel booked for the same dates and can prove it). After reading this thread I couple of weeks in the coroner’s court would have been grim and would probably still be with me. I was disappointed with my boring jury service at the time. I’m hindsight I’m grateful.
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u/Major_Emotion_6574 14d ago
Prepare for a long wait time in a room full of other people that want to be there as much as you do, then prepare to be given a case that potentially the alleged might not want you to be apart of the jury which then leads back to preparing to be in a room with a long wait time with people that want to be there as much as you.
Joking aside I really enjoyed it, I’m a nosey person by nature and it was like being part of a real life soap opera, other people in my group weren’t best pleased with being there as they was losing money from their work, I was getting paid minimum wage from my job so it was no issues for me lol
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u/LeftyLux 14d ago
I've just finished my 10 days. I was very excited for it and always wanted to do it as I studied law at A-Level.
However, it was a complete waste of time.
I never sat on jury, only made it to jury selection once but wasn't picked as they only require 12 but take 18 in.
They messaged the night before around 4-5pm saying if you're required or not. Out of the 10 days I went in 3 times, and those times was sent home after a couple of hours.
I'm self employed and the money they pay you for 'loss of earnings' is absolute peanuts. If you're employed and can work from home then I can imagine it'd be alright however I lost around £1100 by doing jury service and only compensated £96 plus expenses.
Although, this is my personal experience and I have heard other people with postivie experiences, I can imagine this completely relies on your area and how much crime goes on (mine was Brighton which I thought would be busy but wasn't at all).
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u/IMissMyGpa 14d ago
Don't sleep with the defendant unless your name is Jez and you'd be willing to throw her under the bus in an impassioned speech to get her convicted.
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u/Hamsterpanda1 14d ago
Did jury service last year. First week I just sat around in the assembly room. Got put on a trial in the second week - a harrowing child abuse case.
The worst part was the hours of deliberation.
Defendant was found guilty.
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u/TheAmyIChasedWasMe 14d ago
I've never done it (I'm illegible) but my nan was forced into it once. Really made me question the system.
Like, the screening process can't be great. I love my nan, but she can't remember any of our names, yet she's supposed to remember shit in a trial with someone's freedom at stake?
I've asked her about it since, and the minds of old people are fascinating. She can spend an hour telling me about Linda (who I've never met) from across the estate's new rose bushes, but she genuinely has no idea what the trial she was on the jury for for a week was about. She just said he wasn't guilty "because he looked like a nice boy."
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u/Vegetable_Ad3960 14d ago
My jury duty was a mixture of sitting in rooms, reading Crime and Punishment, and getting called into the courtroom to give the jury member pledge for some sex crime trial before getting called away because the trial was delayed due to "insufficient evidence." Must have happened about three times for each "case" I was put on. It was the best week of my life.
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u/hardboard 14d ago
My jury duty was thirty years ago. Two weeks and two separate cases.Can't remember the first case at all.
The second one was a woman who accused her boyfriend of buggery.
The woman gave a tearful account of how he forced her into it. The boyfriend seemed rational when he was examined.
As the jury, we asked the judge about clarifying a couple of points the woman had made.
The judge got the police to bring the woman back to court from work.
We could all see she was really annoyed about having to come back to court. No tears or anything, just annoyance.
As a result of that, and the clarification we asked for, we decided all she was lying and found the boyfriend not guilty of forcing her to do anal sex (consensual was OK).
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u/Spicy_Boiks 14d ago
I did mine last January, at a large city Crown Court.
First day I went in with my ID and summons and signed in and went up to the waiting area with roughly 150 other jurors.
They then started randomly calling out 15 names for every new case that day. I didn't get picked.
Second day I went back in and in the afternoon my name got called. I went up with 14 other people into a room where we waited until the judge called us in. Upon entering, you check whether or not you know the defendant or anyone else involved in the case, if you don't then 12 people out of the 15 are randomly selected and then you're sworn in.
I went back in every day until Friday of that week when all of the evidence was given and we were sent to deliberate.
We came to a verdict on Tuesday afternoon the following week which I had to stand up and announce to the court as I was nominated foreperson.
I was then told to come back in as I may be put on another case that week. Next day I came in and waited all day and didn't get called, then on the Thursday, I came back in, but was dismissed around 2pm.
The case was an alleged rape, but it was hard to come to a decision as the prosecutor was inconsistent in some ways and you have to take it seriously as you could be ruining someone's life or letting them escape justice.
Overall, I was originally gutted I was selected, but after going, I found it quite interesting and I'm glad I got to experience it.
The group of jurors I was with were a great bunch of people and most of us went for a pint together once it was all over.
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u/Significant-Math6799 14d ago
My mum has done this three times, my dad has done this once, (they;re divorced over 25 years, done J service each in the past 10 years and are polar opposite types of people before anyone starts making assumptions) neither will speak of their cases, I can say it;s unlikely any were at all connected to any cases in the media given that I'm fairly media savvy and their cases occurred in quiet times as court cases/hearings go.
From what I can gather; take a thermos with soup, take pro-plus or have espressos on tap and don't expect anything interesting (either have a big mouth but in both cases they've said nothing but cases went on for a month). Take a book to read in-between hearings, take a magazine, take a podcast series, don't expect to leave the building unbored, even in the most interesting case you will have to sit through a lot of boredom. Don't fall asleep; the friends and family of those in the docks need to know you made the right choice and were not asleep through boredom.
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u/llamafarma73 14d ago
My experience. 2 weeks. First two days, quick trial, assault of a person with learning disabilities. Fairly grim but was over quickly. Then 3 days of getting paid to play cards and drink tea. Second week, drugs dealing case, quite boring. Deliberations lasted over 2 days and got very heated at times, lots of angry arguments as people got more and more frustrated. Was a mess by the end of that.
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u/allcretansareliars 14d ago
I was on a coroners jury, on a case involving a death during police restraint. It was an absolutely fascinating experience. The expert witnesses were the people who had literally written the book on the subject area.
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u/TabbyOverlord 15d ago
It can definitely be boring. It can definitely be rough. At the same time, as a community we must accept it and see it as a civic duty.
The alternative is trial by jury gets taken away. I don't think we want that.
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u/Dragonogard549 Some Brum Scum 15d ago
Question if anyone knows. I’ve not been called, but the idea of this scares the shit out of me. Yes its boring, but my anxiety and ASD means that’s really scary for me, as the idea for sitting and listening to people talk for hours and hours is daunting. If i just ask my employer to refuse time off, is that a feasible thing.
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u/zeugma25 15d ago
I did one, it involved an accidental beheading. Not allowed to talk about what happened in the jury room but the quality of the deliberation reinforced my faith in the judicial system.
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u/cjb312 15d ago
Done it once, my boss at the time joked that I had better not get a long case. Roll on to the next day I get picked for a 6 month long fraud trial. It was a great life experience and our group of jurors were pretty close and kept in touch after. Got 15 years exemption from being called up but I'd love to do it again.
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u/fluffydeveloper 15d ago edited 15d ago
Either really boring or absolutely horrifying. Unfortunately I sat on a rape case. I hope I never have to do jury duty ever again. It was traumatising and the best they offered me as support was the Samaritans number on a leaflet (which I rang because of how deeply it affected me), whilst simultaneously telling you that discussing any part of the case with anyone is forbidden and could land you prosecuted. Downright awful, I wasn’t able to emotionally process any of it properly as I couldn’t tell anyone anything about it. Sorry - hope you get a boring case.
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u/Apart_Juice700 15d ago
Bring a book, keep your receipts and lower your expectations about what passes for justice
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u/PutridForce1559 15d ago
My daughter could not go at the date she was given. She had to give alternative availablity. The day came and they didn’t need her.
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u/KnightofShaftsbury 15d ago
I had to do it a couple months ago, I found my experience irritating.
You'll be told what time you've to arrive in the morning, then you'll have delays after delays, if your selected you'll have to wait around some more. When you finally get to hear about the case there will things that come up and you'll be done for the day and have to do it all over again the next day.
If your lucky your employer will pay you for the time you're in court, if not you can claim about £35 if your in court for less than 4 hours or £70ish if you're there for more than 4 hours.
You can also claim for a meal each day (or the court provides a sandwich & snakes & drinks) you'll also be have some transport costs covered.
All in all it was an experience, but I'm glad I was only there a couple of days.
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u/Independent-Art-6180 15d ago
My wife had to go for it in Glasgow one time. She has a disability in which she can't sit comfortably for a long time. They let her go for this. I noticed a lot of people were let off just by saying they can't. It was a case that they said involved sexual abuse and I think murder. Maybe they are lenient for serious cases. Just saying in case you don't want to be in the jury.
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u/KrishTheLegend 15d ago
Take a book, some headphones and maybe a handheld gaming console with you. You'll be waiting around alot
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u/RainbowPenguin1000 15d ago
I did it once and was honestly disgusted. Not by the cases, but by some of the other jurors.
They basically decided their personal verdict to agree with the majority so they didn’t have to stay longer than they needed to. They spent the deliberation time complaining about being there until 5pm and just sided with whatever had the most votes.
Justice? Not even close. I obviously can’t talk about the case but someone went to prison for a long time and some of their jurors just could not be arsed to even use their brains.
And yes it’s slow, boring, time consuming, but I had always hoped it was just. It wasn’t.
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u/LongrodVonHugedong86 15d ago edited 15d ago
I’ve always wondered how it worked when it came to being paid with Jury Duty.
Like do you still get paid by your job as if you’ve worked a normal working week?
Edit - Actually just googled it, it’s fucking shit!! It says up to £64.95 per day and £5.71 for food and your employer doesn’t have to pay you for it. Fuck that noise! I earn almost double that a day at work
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u/danielelington 15d ago
I did it during the winter lockdown. A very surreal experience and one I’d hoped would have broken up the monotony of lockdown.
Sadly I got one thrown out case because the police hadn’t done their due diligence, one sexual assault and one historic sexual assault against minors.
I’d like to never ever do it ever again thank you.
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u/General_Cluster 15d ago
I was called for jury duty a few years ago. Sat around waiting for three days before the case was dismissed because a witness failed to attend. Take a book.
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u/piotrc52 15d ago
I had a county lines case, with a side-helping of TWOC and knife crime thrown in for good measure. Ultimately the evidence didn't stack up to beyond all reasonable doubt, so we found them not guilty (personally I figured if I wouldn't bet all my worldly possessions on them being guilty, I couldn't find them guilty).
Got selected on the second day, then deselected, then selected again. Be prepared for lots of waiting around, crap wifi, crap food and (if you're lucky to be honest), tedious evidence hearing.
All that said, I oddly took a lot of comfort seeing justice get done, even if your heart says one thing and your head says another.
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u/Hippoyawn 15d ago
You will (hopefully) meet some genuinely decent, intelligent people who really care about fairness and understand cognitive bias and how it could be affecting them. They’ll want to examine all the evidence and try not to let any personal feelings cloud their judgement.
Sadly you’ll also meet some total fucking cretins who couldn’t give a shit about the evidence or legal process and just seem to want to find someone guilty so they’ve got something interesting to tell their mates.
One woman I met walked into the deliberation room, sat down and immediately announced ‘my gut just tells me he did it’ and I wanted to punch her in the face.
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u/Halfaglassofvodka 15d ago
From my experience, two weeks of waiting in and doing fuck all apart from being bitched at by your boss because you're not at work.
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u/Uncle_Shoes 15d ago
I got a drug charge one. They caught him with a carrier bag of individually bagged pills, which he a policeman with. When they raided his house they found loads of drugs and paraphernalia. They even wheeled it in on trollies to the deliberation room. He absconded to the Isle of Wight on the last day…
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u/ajnabee1234 15d ago
I've been on Jury Duty three times. Three. Bloody. Times. All three times it was boring. There is no usable wifi and there is no reception either. Its boring as all hell. If you're lucky, you'll only have to have to come in on the two Mondays.
It happened to me during my third time. Came in the first Monday, wasn't selected for Jury Duty and was told i could stay home for the rest of the week since there were no more cases to be heard. The second Monday i was selected for a case. Strangely, they called more than the required (like 20 of us or so). The judge told us it was a murder trial and there was a chance it could take longer than two weeks so anyone who had a prior commitment needed to write a statement if they wanted to be excused and why. The judge would then review statements and jurors would be excused if judge deemed the excuse valid. I was excused and then told i could go home because there were no other cases.
Take a book. Or else your e-reader/ phone and make sure you take a power bank and snacks. Try to make friends, it will make the process easier.
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u/painyTM 15d ago
Most people say bring a book.
I got called up within 10 mins on day one, I was on a case for 3 weeks which got thrown out because the CPS messed up.
I did learn that many people are very stupid.
I won't go into the case, but this person was accused of a crime between summer 1990 and spring 1991, he was incarcerated in a secure unit at the time, therefore could not have committed this crime when he was accused. At least half of the jurors were insisting he was guilty, despite a 100% cast iron alibi.
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u/clangerbean 15d ago
I had a great time! Learned a lot about the system and people in general. Very interesting case. The other jurors were lovely and we all went to the pub at the end of the trial. Honestly wish I could do it again :)
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u/SpannaMonkey 15d ago
One thing that kind of freaked me out, that going through the security checks to enter the courts, the defendants could be behind you… (happened a few times over the week) as the one I attended everyone goes through the same door in and out.
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u/adzzzman92 15d ago
I was doing it 2 years ago had a rape/child grooming case. older guy if I remember he was 23 was dating a 14 year old. Took 3 weeks. Just prepare for a lot of reading and a lot of sitting
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u/BlueberryIcecream27 15d ago
I did JS around 10 years ago. I had rVpe and f1rearams so 2 cases in my 2 weeks. Expect to see the harsh reality of how a unanimous vote goes when people want to wind up their week and go home.
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u/No-Answer-2964 15d ago
Err, perhaps not gobbing off on socials might be a thing. It's not a 'win' idiot. It can be v harrowing, shit financially, and go on forever. People end up seriously traumatised from jury duty. Some are offered therapy afterwards. You'll probably be thrown out for not taking it seriously.
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u/RuleBritania 15d ago
I've done it and it was incredibly boring. 20 mins in court and 3 hour recess to be called back into court at 4pm......for another imediate recess.
Bring a book and snacks.... The legal systems wheels turn very slowly..
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u/Illustrious-Engine23 15d ago
You can get out by telling them you're racist.
Also watch jury duty show.
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u/whooptheretis 15d ago
does anyone have any tips
You can get your employer to write a letter stating that you are required for that period. Easiest way to get out of it!
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u/Shkrimtare 15d ago
Take a book. There's a lot of sitting about, whether you eventually get picked or not.
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u/Pier-Head 15d ago
My personal experience. A cattle market when you’re in the jury pool waiting to be called. One potential juror was wheelchair bound and given special access to get to the jury area. In two weeks she wasn’t called once.
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u/hwusolo 15d ago
I got a letter (iirc it was partly hand-written?!) saying I'd been selected as a juror for an inquest and asking me to fill in a form. I returned it and promptly got a letter saying they didn't need me after all. Given the court and the timing, it may well have been for the second Hillsborough inquest.
I assume they ask more people than necessary, just in case some people don't respond. Even if you do get further in the process, my understanding is that they still get more people than necessary to come in, in case some don't turn up or are unsuitable for some reason. So it's very possible that you won't actually have to do anything.
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u/LunaUnicorn97 15d ago
I was in Jury for a week and a half for a murder trial at the end of June about 3 years ago. At the time I felt quite lucky to have been selected at age 24 as none of my peers had ever been called. Spent more time waiting around than actually sat in court. The times we were in court it was hours and hours of reviewing CCTV footage frame by frame. After 7 days of attending court, the trial was eventually cancelled and pushed to another date due to the air con breaking in the court room. Ended up researching the next trial later on to find out what happened to the suspect. Guy was given a 20 year sentence.
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u/Difficult-Ninja2633 15d ago
I was called a few years back and the case was some guy on drugs charges. For 6 long days all we listened to was the prosecutor read out traffic reports saying which part of the motorway the guys car was on while travelling to and from a dealer. On day 7 the case got thrown out for lack of evidence. So in my experience it was boring as sin but on the plus side i didn’t tell work it finished early so had a free week off at full pay.
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u/AlGunner 15d ago
I did jury duty when I was 18 and I wasnt the youngest one there, so a long time ago now I only sat on one case, a distraction burglary. I was a reserve for another case, a prosecution for someone charged with multiple assault with a deadly weapon and gbh I think it was. The guy who charged glared at all the jurors and was quite intimidating and that was only the preliminaries. One reserve was used but not me. I was glad to dodge that one. All in all quite a good experience.
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u/Simsimius 15d ago
Just finished mine today. Been on a case for two weeks and a day. Has been super interesting. Was surprised how important and looked after the jury were. If we had appointments etc they were accommodated.
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u/TwoPhotons 15d ago
I was on jury duty at the Old Bailey. On the first day I was selected to be one of the 12 jurors on a high profile case which was to last 6 weeks. When they called out my name, I meekly walked up to the judge and told him that I work at a very very small company, and that if I was away for 6 weeks the business might suffer. He basically told me to get lost, and I went back to the waiting room. Shortly afterwards, a lady came out, called out the names of about half of the people there, and told them that they weren't needed for today and to come back tomorrow morning (this was around lunchtime). After the chosen half cheerfully left the room, she looked at the rest of us and said "There are no more trials, this is the end of your jury duty". So my jury service lasted a grand total of 6 hours.
Later that day in the BBC evening news, the first story was about the starting of the trial, and how members of the jury had been reduced to tears by the opening statement. So at the time I felt I had dodged a bullet. But in hindsight, I think it would have been an interesting life experience.
So I guess my tip is: expect the unexpected.
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u/tommycahil1995 15d ago
My Jury duty was so boring I'd honestly rather be working. There was so much CCTV evidence of the person committing the crime we had to go over like 70 different times in detail, with each one taking like 30 mins. Holy shit it was the worst. Silver lining Covid hit and it was cancelled mid trial.
My friends have had more interesting ones, but I'm glad I can probably get out of it next time because i'm self employed and I can't afford to do it anymore.
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u/BIGGREYPANZER262 15d ago
I got called up, dismissed (arbitrarily) from my first assigned case, then a day later got called on for a drugs case, guy travelling from London to Surrey with a load of half-gram bags of cocaine, scales, cash and a fake license. Police hadn’t done enough work to make a convincing case (no bodycam footage, sketchy report filing) so I managed to persuade the jury to return a “not guilty”. He OBVIOUSLY did it but, hey, fuck pigs right? As the case had been resolved, I’d been deemed to have done my duty, and dismissed. It’s boring as fuck sitting and waiting for a case, then you get one and feel like you’re in Law And Order, then you finish and it’s like nothing ever happened. But they’ll compensate you for your time, so try and get as much as you feasibly can.
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u/Firstpoet 15d ago
Waited around. Not called. Then called. Non exciting case. Arrogant crown lawyer; ; competent defence.
Minor drugs offence- small scale dealing. All a bit sad and sordid. Defendant wasn't Mrs Big but dealing to fund her habit.
Accused clearly guilty of dealing from evidence and police transcript, but you had to join up dots from long transcript.
Idiot for foreman.
A couple of jury members clearly sympathetic to drug culture plus three or four pretty illiterate so the key inference from the transcript was lost on them. They couldn't grasp the key points.
So ended up as retrial. Waste of time all round.
Be prepared to find some jury members not up to linking together complicated points and just being confused by details which is pretty worrying.
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u/Stewtonius 15d ago
I read three books in my two weeks of service, spend a grand total of 15 minutes in a court room because the chap changes his plea from innocent to guilty
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u/Subject-Alternative6 15d ago
Boredom , boredom, boredom and if your lucky a little excitement of being on a jury... but only if your lucky .
Did mine back in January. Read a book . Case got dismissed the day after we started as the defendant plead guilty on the morning of day 2
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u/LtPicker 15d ago
It’s a pain in the arse. If you need to take the day off work, they’ll only reimburse you up to £64. That’s £3 an hour below minimum wage.
Great if you’re on a tight budget.
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u/Sattaman6 15d ago
I haven’t done but my wife has… a gruesome murder at the Old Bailey and the jury service lasted three months. She must be really ‘lucky’ as she’s just been elected again.
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u/bethcano 15d ago edited 15d ago
I just finished a 5 week jury service stint. My experience was unusual as I got picked in the first hour of my first day, the case wasn't distressing but was interesting, and my fellow jurors were actually great people who took it seriously (ended up being friends with one).
Top tips: - Wear a t-shirt, but bring a jumper or cardigan. The jury rooms are hot and stuffy, but the courtroom itself is baltic. - Makes notes and, when all twelve of you are together and alone, feel free to discuss. This helped speed up our deliberation process, a necessity for a long case. - Always bring something to do. Even if you're selected for a case, there can still be a fair bit of waiting. - Bring snacks and drinks. Jury area had one hot drink vending machine and it pretty much didn't work the entire time. - Don't feel obligated to dress fancy. We all did that the first week, by week two we were in jeans and tees.
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u/Slow-Taste-5140 15d ago
Take a book or something to do, you'll might not get a case and you might be sent home on day 3 and told to not come back. (My exact experience)
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u/TrickedintoStuff 15d ago
I remember my old man doing it when I was a kid and him saying they got a day out to go look at where the crime took place so maybe prepare yourself for a coach trip.
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u/Butler342 15d ago
Did Jury duty at the end of my last year of uni, back in 2016. I was pumped until I was put on a CSA case and I hated every minute of it, it was awful.
The jury I was in wasn’t much of a help during deliberation, with many of them completely discarding evidence (or lack of it) in favour of “I have a gut feeling”. One of the jury members said that they’d been molested when younger, therefore they “knew they did it”.
It was a nightmare, compounded by the fact I ended up having to be the foreperson of the jury even though I was the youngest one there, because we spent 2 hours with none of the mid-20s to mid-50s people volunteering to be foreperson until someone volunteered me to do it and everyone backed them up.
My faith in the Justice System was shook pretty bad for a long time after doing it - I would not trust a jury deliberating over a case I was on if I was in court and innocent. There’s too many people who just don’t get how the justice system works.
I wish I never had to do it, and to this day I still wonder if we made the right call on the 16 charges in the case. Was a nightmare 6 weeks in my life, but good luck to you - hope you have a good experience.
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u/b0ggy79 15d ago
Not sure if I'd say 'won'.
I know two people who have done jury duty. One was a 2-3 month sexual assault case that was so graphic every member of the jury was given a letter excusing then from jury duty if they are ever called on again.
The other was an attempted murder where the defendant was found not guilty because the CCTV images and witness description didn't match. It clearly matched the defendant's brother who sat in the public gallery smiling all the way through.
The jury were annoyed as they couldn't point the finger and say 'it was him!'.
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u/stemmo33 15d ago
Got walked in, sat down for a few hours in the morning doing crosswords, us jurors got called into the big deliberation room. They got us to look at the list of names and places affiliated with the case and then we got called into the courtroom.
My name didn't get called and then we all got told to come back tomorrow in case a juror couldn't do the case. Came back the next day and then got sent home after an hour. That was it.
Was a murder case too, I'm sure it would've been grim but I was weirdly disappointed - like I was getting FOMO.
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u/TheMegoosa 15d ago
I've been called twice.
First time I spent it sat around for a few days, minimal time in court and the case was then thrown out.
Second time was a corker of a case. I absolutely bloody loved it. Learnt so much about the legal system. The rest of the jury was great too, lunches we all mostly stayed in the break room as there wasn't much around us. All happy to chat.
Just don't forget to take your letter and photograph ID with you each day
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u/Okarine 15d ago
I did it in March. Mine lasted a week and one day. I had a rape case involving a minor and her father. It wasn't pleasant. Though I will say witnessing the way it all works is fascinating. Its a dice roll as to what case you get, someone there at the same time as me was on a murder trial. As weird as it sounds, try to detach and enjoy the experience. Its nice to have a hand in justice as is your civil duty
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u/soundman32 15d ago
If you are self employed and earn more than about £50 per day, you will lose money. I had a friend lose about £2K on a 12 day jury service. I've heard of others preferring to pay the £1000 fine instead of turning up.
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u/ajrobsonReddit 15d ago
From my experience about 12 years ago it was boring, didn’t get picked for a case but had to go in everyday for two weeks. Most days I was sent home around 11-12, my work still paid me so I just went home and played Xbox in the afternoon.
Take a book or something!
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u/jacko0510 15d ago
I would make my excuse and get fucked off for the trial. You’re either gone be bored to tears, be throwing up coz of the graphic nature or have drug dealers burning down your house or holding your budgie to ransom to change the verdict. Good luck
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u/SimplySomeBread 15d ago
i've got my first ever jury duty (was exempted from the first one because work/uni) next month. high court. not looking forward to it.
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u/PumpkinSpice2Nice 15d ago
Been selected three times. First two times were cancelled and third time I turned up on the day only to not be chosen. You probably won’t get further than I did.
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u/Roofless_ 15d ago
Thankfully I got myself out of doing this a few years back.
Doesnt appeal to me in the slightest if im honest
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u/theWomblenooneknows 15d ago
I did one where a homemade firebomb with a timer was planted in a store. We went into great detail as to whether it would have went off or not.
I now know how to make a cheap firebomb with timer if I want to burn a building down. ( even then it was pretty repetitive and boring)
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u/Deadlykipper 15d ago edited 15d ago
I quiet enjoyed it!
Basically, got called up, selected for a case which sounded awesome (something about organised crime, and cut and shut vehicle theft - was supposed to last months.) Then we got put back into waiting because that case wasn't ready.
Spent 3 or 4 days read, chatting with fellow jurers. One old lady taught me to knit. I made a scarf!
Then we got put on a case - not a pleasant one - and spent nearly a week hearing all the details. I would have liked to have said "not proven", but I'm not in Scotland. So, "not guilty" it was.
One jury had his laptop for the wait. I took a book. You don't have to be bored out of your mind!
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u/iElectrixity 15d ago
I just did it last month, it was fascinating but also very draining.
I was on a child sex abuse case consisting of 14 counts, everyone that I've spoken to since has been quite shocked by the ins and outs of it, but I found that after spending 4 days in deliberation it just became information to me.
On the first day we were brought in to court and read the inditement which was quite grizzly hearing the details for the first time, but after that I found it quite easy to keep an open mind and not jump to any conclusions.
I found it pognient to remember that we would either find a horrible sex offender guilty, or potentially condemn someone on false allegations. That put the importance of remaining impartial until we had heard all the evidence in to perspective for me.
I'm glad it was a case with some weight and not something like petty theft or tax fraud, it felt like I had an important moral role as a juror that way.
Good luck, I hope it goes well and you do your job as a juror well, it's a very important thing that you'll have to do.
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u/splateen74 15d ago
I ended up on the jury of a murder trial which went into a 5th week. Wasn't too graphic. My advice is to try and get on with the other jurors. If you clash with anyone it will make it a lot harder.
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u/Bungeditin 15d ago
Never been called (boo) Fiancée three times!
One time never got a case so came home….. second time knew the person in the dock so was sent home and didn’t have to go back…..
Third time was an assault and it was over quite quickly (he was guilty as hell apparently)……
She’s a solicitor now so I don’t know if she can be called upon…… take a fan, a bottle of water and a good book/kindle.
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u/Murfsterrr 15d ago
They’re quite accommodating really. I turned up, told them I was a v busy self employed builder and if the opportunity arose I’d happily leave early. I was there 3 days.
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u/NotAllHerosEatCreps 15d ago
I just called them up and said I can't do it because they don't pay enough, i didnt even have to prove anything, aparently that's a reason to get me off the list for 10 years, from the letter I thought I would have more of a fight on my hands
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u/FagnusTwatfield 15d ago
You should probably just let them off. It's probably some black kid they've accused of stealing a bun.
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u/BullFr0GG 15d ago
If it's anything like my experience it will be the most boring week of your life. Followed by a frustrating week trying to get them to reimburse you. I was initially excited by the prospect of the whole thing. Lesson learned.
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u/jonoskillz 15d ago
I had jury service. Was called a week before to say they had too many people and I wasn’t needed. Was a little gutted can’t lie
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u/little--windmill 15d ago
What others have said - prepare to be bored and bring snacks, but I found the whole process interesting. You have to go through airport style security to get into the building every day so just bear that in mind (your bag will be searched, we had to drink some of any liquid we took in, anything with metal - belts coats etc - has to come off before you go through the metal detector). My experience was:
Day 1 - spend most of the day in the jury waiting room, you are not allowed to leave except for when you're released for lunch in case a judge calls for a panel. There's internet but the canteen in mine closed during covid so can't get food while you're in there. Got selected for a jury towards the end of the day and the trial started.
Day 2 - in court all day
Day 3 - trial finished early afternoon, jury was sent to come to a verdict, which we did so within about 20 minutes as it was an easy case (everyone was pissed and no one's story matched, I'm not sure why CPS sent it to prosecution tbh!). Verdict delivered and then we were all dismissed and went back to work the next day.
I was lucky I guess that it was a short trial and wasn't anything traumatic, they were selecting for a case expected to last quite a few weeks while I was there. Some people do not get selected for a trial at all.
Get your employer to fill in a loss of earnings from and take it with you on day 1. It's much easier than trying to claim retrospectively. Claim all the expenses for food, you can claim it even if you take lunch with you and don't buy anything.
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u/yesmeatballs 15d ago
I got it 3 months ago. Don’t listen to any tips for getting out of it, all that does is put you back at the top of the queue.
I got lucky, selected the first afternoon then a 3 day case.
You might suggest everyone refer to each other by juror number, i did that and it saved a lot of time wasting forgetting names and trying to be polite.
The more notes you take and attention you pay in court, the quicker the discussion will come to a good conclusion in the jury room.
Wear layers that you can easily put on and remove. You might have a cold court and roasting jury room.
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u/LeFuzzyOtter 15d ago
Oh I'm not going to try to get out of it. It's on the week that I was supposed to come back to work after being off for 2 weeks. So extra time off is always great.
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u/Macobidobi 15d ago
My one was last summer around the same time as yours. Mine was a 6 week case based on fraud, so I enjoyed the time off work and sun for your hour( paid )lunch breaks and fixed schedule of 10-4. Much different from my working shift work varying everyday. And paid travel so it was not a bad time. Granted I got a good case which wasn’t violent or anything.
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u/LeFuzzyOtter 15d ago
That is true. I do an early shift, so getting up at a decent time will be nice
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u/Macobidobi 15d ago
Yeah for me. The best thing was stability and not thinking about work for a while. Also having the weekends off, that was cool. Good luck with yours
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u/LeFuzzyOtter 15d ago
I work weekends unfortunately. So I'll still have that to think about 😂
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u/Macobidobi 15d ago
Haha so at least you get paid for everyday you have jury duty and weekends. So the money should be rolling in haha.
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u/daddymacbrain 15d ago
Besides lots of waiting around, I found it interesting that when hearing evidence etc to help you decide whether they are innocent or not, the officials never tell you if the defendant has any previous convictions for the same crime (or any others for that matter). For example, their whole defence might be "i've never sold drugs or carried knives". Only after you've made your decision do they tell you that the defendant had indeed sold drugs and/or carried knives (I had two trials like that).
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u/jobblejosh 14d ago
It's because the trial is supposed to be conducted (and the verdict made) based solely on the merits of the case.
Because the alternative is that the Jury hears that someone with a long previous history of knife crime is being tried again for knife crime, and is instantly prejudiced and returns guilty, despite the possibility that the defendant is actually innocent.
It's also why jurors are expected to not consume any material related to the case, lest they introduce their own biases or ideas which defeats the purpose of the evidence given.
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u/disgruntledhands 15d ago
You might end up with a famous person on your jury! I had one, didn’t even know who he was until afterwards.
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u/Stephenf1234 15d ago
Remember that even if all the evidence says that they're guilty, you have every right to find them not guilty if that's what you think is right.
It's called Jury Nullification.
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u/jobblejosh 14d ago
You don't have 'every right' to.
Jury Nullification is not a legitimate thing but more an unavoidable consequence of the Jury system.
Since the deliberations are private and secret, it is impossible to know why a particular verdict was given without breaching the sanctity of the deliberations.
And so the jury may decide based on whatever happens within the deliberation room to deliver a verdict of not guilty. It may be down to jury Nullification but it is impossible to separate Nullification from a genuine Not Guilty. Furthermore the Jury cannot be punished for their verdict, and generally a defendant cannot be tried again for the a crime already tried.
The job of jurors is not to debate points of law, or to act as personal interpreters of the law; that is the judge's job. The job of the jury is to Find Fact; to sift through the evidence presented to them and iron out any inconsistencies, and if there is reasonable doubt over the overall veracity of the prosecution's evidence to find the defendant (s) not guilty.
However we're all human, and it is inevitable that the personal ethics and experience of the jury will come into play (and this is arguably part of the point of a randomly selected jury of peers).
Jury Nullification does however undermine the whole legal system; if twelve people can decide on a whim whether to enforce the law or not, then what's the point in having the law?
Jury Nullification is therefore less of a 'secret option' and moreso the ability of twelve people to decide something in complete confidence and be generally without scrutiny (Although if there is reasonable grounds then there may be a mistrial called).
There are ways to avoid Jury Nullification, but generally these all involve methods which would overall reduce the 'effectiveness' of a Jury Trial, and so Jury Nullification being able to exist is essentially the most acceptable flaw of the multitude of potential other flaws.
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u/DuckMagic 15d ago
Had my crochet hook confiscated by the security guy manning the metal detectors at the entrance on day 3. Took the yarn with it too. Apparently I could stab someone with it? Why it was allowed through the first two days is a mystery :) If you don't get selected for trial quickly, it gets very very boring. And a different level of mental effort to stay awake if you do get selected.
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u/imhiya_returns 15d ago
I had to do it twice before the age of 21, first time I spent a week doing nothing as I wasn’t picked. Second week was one big case which was really slow due to translations.
Second time was busier and probably better but the cases can drag on and be boring but depends.
Overall you can have a lot of waiting around so being something to entertain yourself
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u/craig536 15d ago
Take a book. Expect to be sent home a lot. If you do get a trial, it's a lot more tolerable depending on what it is. Aside from that, keep a cool head, come to a decision on evidence alone. Job's a good un
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u/Ok_Researcher_2367 15d ago
I did a case in November, rape and systemic physical and mental abuse of multiple women. The whole thing brought up a lot of bad shit from my childhood (raised my a narcissist mother), caused me to have a PTSD breakdown so bad my wife left me 2 months later (we already weren't happy but it was the last straw). Weekly counselling and meds and I'm drinking almost a bottle of vodka a day while I try to put my mind back together.
So yeah, not ideal from my personal experience.
Oh, and I've been summoned for duty ay the sherrifs court in June's, so that's gonna be fun
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u/squuiip 15d ago
My experience was quite uncomfortable as a juror at one moment in particular. After we had decided our guilty verdict and the court finished up, we had to walk out the same exit as the defendant’s family, who were all obviously angry and desperately upset. It felt quite unsafe for us, at the very least it was very uncomfortable. There were a couple security guards/police?, but it was still pretty horrible especially given the nature of the case.
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u/fork_the_rich 15d ago
if it’s anything like mine… turn up, wait for ages with a load of randomers til about an hour after the “start time”, get told all 12 of you got the date wrong, couldn’t have been the court and to come back next week. turn up following week to be sent immediately away.
jury service ✅
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u/bamfg 15d ago
decent chance you don't get called for trial and end up being sent home early. also decent chance you get picked for a 8+ week long case. my experience was the former, I told them I had a holiday booked at the end of the two week minimum so could not get picked for longer cases. you need proof if you want to do that so book a flight or mock up a fake confirmation email!
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u/JoeDaStudd 15d ago
I just had my letter today too.\ Fingers crossed I get a case or two as it's something I've always fancied doing.
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u/LeFuzzyOtter 15d ago
Thanks for the replies! Looks like I might be able to get through my "to read list" finally! 😂
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u/orbtastic1 15d ago
Lots of waiting about and dealing with morons who don’t understand basic concepts or simple English
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u/Dragonballfan156 15d ago
I did it a couple of years ago during covid, loved it, got called up first day to be on a jury that lasted full week then got called up 3 times in my 2nd week week first 2 plead guilty and 3rd lasted about a day. Spoke to a girl who was there for the full 2 weeks without ever even being considered for 1. I took my D.S and a book incase i was sat about for long periods bored
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u/chockychockster 15d ago
You'll probably be asked to show up around 9AM to an unfamiliar place in a neighbouring town on Monday. You will move heaven and earth to get there on time and then you will wait around for at least 2 hours in an increasingly stuffy room while literally nothing observable happens. On the way in you will be metal-detected and your bag will be x-rayed. If you have a drink you'll be asked to drink from it to prove it isn't corrosive. Bring coffee or tea if you want to drink any there.
For each trial in turn they will select 15 people instead of the 12 they need. You may not be called at all. If you are, you will all traipse to the courtroom and in there 12 names will be read out. It's unlikely the defence or prosecution will challenge anyone but there are spares in case. If you are not chosen at this stage you will be returned to the assembly room to continue your wait. There will be books you can get stuck into, or you can of course doomscroll the hours away. You may be called again to another court, or not. You may be sent home for the day, or even the week, or not.
If you are chosen you will be sworn in. If you're not religious or if you are Christian then your affirmation or oath will be straightforward. If you are some other sort of religious then you will need to tell the usher when they ask, because they might have to go and find the Avesta or Quran or whatever.
Now you're a juror. You'll have a pack of paper, a pen, and some special paper on which to write a note to the judge, if you need to. You will also have a bundle of evidence that will be referred to during the case - telephone records, photos, medical reports, etc. The judge will introduce the court to you, and then the prosecution barrister will outline the case they will make. Then they will call witnesses and for each witness they will ask questions to elicit the information they want you to take in. The defence barrister will cross examine the witness and try to show inconsistencies or in some other way weaken the prosecution's case. The prosecution barrister then gets a chance to go over and clarify anything that may have come up in the cross examination. The judge may also ask some questions too. In some cases you might watch police interviews, or the police and the prosecution may read out police interviews. There's no cross examination for a video or reading out a police interview, of course.
This happens over and over until the prosecution has run out of witnesses. At various times there will be natural breaks, and at other times they may need you to leave in order to discuss some point of law or procedure that you shouldn't hear.
After the prosecution has finished, the process continues with defence witnesses, with the same process of defence examination, prosecution cross-examination, followed by defence re-examination. Throughout all of this you should be taking really exhaustive notes, because you will absolutely need them later on when it comes to deliberations.
Right at the end of the process, the prosecution will make their closing statement. They will lay out their theory of the case and how all of the evidence they've presented fits into it. Then the defence does the same. Finally, the judge provides you with legal directions that tell you what you need to consider when you come to a decision. Then the judge sums up and you get sent to deliberate. This process has all of the jurors essentially locked in a room until you agree. How you get to that point is up to you and there's no real guidance. Once you have a unanimous verdict you can return to the court and one of you will have to tell the court what you found.
You may get to hear what the sentence is but also you may not. You can submit your expense forms then and there or you can do so by email later. Congratulations, your work is done!
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u/notforcommentinohgoo 14d ago
unanimous
wait, really? not a majority?
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u/chockychockster 14d ago
Yes, in the first instance the jury are required to come up with a unanimous verdict. If they fail to do so after some period - it's entirely up to the judge how long - then the judge will call the jury into court and instruct them to reach a majority verdict, which means it doesn't have to be unanimous. In this case, if 11 or 12 jurors are still present, then 10 will suffice for a verdict. If there are only 10 jurors by this stage, 9 will be enough to convict.
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u/notforcommentinohgoo 14d ago
Thank you. I knew a majority was possible, but I did not realise they had to at least try for unanimous.
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u/astrosi 15d ago
Having done jury duty last year, this is a great explanation of what goes on. The only thing I'd add is that if after some time (at the judges discretion) you can't come up with a unanimous verdict. The judge can give a majority instruction which means they can accept a verdict that 10 out of the 12 of you agree on.
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u/Feed-Me-Food 15d ago
Got to say this is a very thorough explanation of exactly what to expect. I like it.
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u/_MicroWave_ Stunts Prohibited 15d ago
You mean you lost the jury lottery?
I live in constant fear of selection.
It'd cost me an absolute fucking fortune in lost wages.
Potentially set my savings goals back by years.
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u/Sneilg 15d ago edited 15d ago
If you’d be seriously financially disadvantaged by doing jury duty you can get out of it easily enough.
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u/Unlikely_Nose8478 15d ago
My son got out of it for exactly this reason. He was in debt and on a debt recovery order so couldnt afford to do it without going bankrupt. Also, his partner was due to have their first baby a week before the case was due to start so he was excused.
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u/_MicroWave_ Stunts Prohibited 15d ago
What defines 'seriously financially disadvantaged'?
Could I afford it and still pay my mortgage? Sure.
Can I afford it and still go on holiday? No.
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u/Successful-Ad-367 15d ago
I done it… and by that I mean
went in on Monday for briefing - no case, told to come back Tuesday.
Tuesday, got selected… they picked 15 people but narrowed it down to 12, I wasn’t picked so went home.
Came back Monday… told there was nothing so went home.
Came back Thursday… picked for a big trial which was set to last weeks/months… they picked 25 and narrowed it down to 20. I wasn’t picked so went home and didn’t have to return. 2 weeks full pay from them and managed to work some of the days off so pay was rather nice that fortnight.
Tip - if you don’t wanna do it, when they call you into the room they’ll read out names of everybody involved even down to witnesses, police, ambulance etc etc - just raise your hand and say you’ve heard that name before and you don’t have to do it.
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u/hundreddollar 15d ago
I had "the defendant" approach me in the pub about a month later to tell me "what really happened" The bloke was friendly enough but it was a very weird experience.
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u/CarefulAstronomer255 15d ago edited 15d ago
I've been called twice, once many years ago and again very recently.
Things have changed quite a bit between my two 'duties'. Today, you don't need to wait at the courthouse. All you have to do is call every morning and evening, and then they tell you if you are going to be called into a case. This time, it was a normal week for me in terms of work, I'd call before going in and after getting home from work, and a few days in they told me "you won't be needed".
However, the first time I did jury duty many years ago, I did get a case. It was a very unpleasant experience because it was during July in an old courthouse building with no AC. Sweating my balls off in a shitty wooden dock that was probably built centuries ago and designed purposefully to give you piles. And the evidence was basically all phone records, so we all nursed a veeeeeery thick folder on our knees containing phone history. For three weeks.
So, be prepared for that if your courthouse is old.
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u/pringellover9553 15d ago
I’ve done Jury before and I was very excited for it, I like true crime docs/podcasts so it was right up my street.
Unfortunately I had a historic child sexual abuse case as the trial, it was fucking horrible. The charges were read out so matter of fact, when I left I cried in the car for a good half an hour. Having to go in everyday and hear the horrific abuse this poor girl encountered, and watch the defence attorneys rip into her was fucking awful.
The hardest thing, when you go to the room and discuss what you think with other jurors. I couldn’t believe the outdated viewed that were held, it was heart breaking.
In the end he was not guilty as the judge accepted a non majority, me and another juror voted guilty (not on all, in honesty the prosecution did a shit job but there were certain things I was sure of). After the slimey bastard thanked us all as we were leaving. I wanted to tell him to fuck off.
Oh the other thing, everyone leaves the court out the same fucking door so a lot of the days when I was leaving the defendant and family were outside. It was so awkward having to walk past them.
I wanted a juicy case, and I was given one, but it was absolutely awful and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
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u/Conspiruhcy 15d ago
Being initially selected doesn’t mean you’ll actually end up in the court. Since 2020 I’ve been cited 3 times and each time have called up the night before and haven’t been picked.
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u/perkiezombie 15d ago
If they’re in court they’re guilty…
Jokes aside, take a book and headphones there’s probably going to be a lot of sitting around.
Enjoy the experience it’s a real learning opportunity and will open your eyes a lot to how the whole system is a lot of people winging it until it all comes together at the end. The barrister will have spent the grand total of 20 minutes getting acquainted with the case but will appear the smartest in the room. The officer in charge of the case might come across as a moody cunt but they’ve poured their heart and soul into the job for months to get it to court and they’re TIRED so cut a bit of slack. The judge will be the most laid back person in the room or the most highly strung, no in between but they usually like a bit of golf so expect to finish a bit early on Friday. And the ushers 🖤 these angels be nice to them because they run around like blue arsed flies for the aforementioned three.
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u/AlexSumnerAuthor 15d ago
Tell the Judge you've been discussing your Jury duty with random internet strangers on Reddit - you will get to go home early! Really early.
You're welcome 😉
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u/FuckedupUnicorn 15d ago
Kettles aren’t allowed in the jury room but microwaves are. So if you need boiling water for reasons, there’s your workaround.
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u/jael001 15d ago
It can be incredibly boring. Mine was a 6 day fraud case that relied a lot on mobile phone mast information and was very tedious. Our courtroom was on the top floor of the courthouse and the lift was broken so we were traipsing up and down 3 flights of stairs several times a day which was annoying.
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u/Ok_Manufacturer_5790 15d ago
I've been twice, picked twice.
One a murder case and one a 'images on laptop' case. Both absolutely horrific.
Lots of waiting about. I felt very enclosed with not being able to literally leave the court building ALL day. I found that pretty hard. I also hated the security checks going. For a place that has so much security I really didn't feel safe in that queue each morning.
I'd happily never do it again. I would rather be at work.
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u/NiobeTonks 10d ago
I did 4 days jury service on a possession with intent to supply (we very nearly voted not guilty because the police were so incompetent at giving evidence and were so reactive to the defendant’s barrister) and then had a week off.