Jury Service??
 

have you ever been called for Jury service??

I would love to be called for it, I would be there in a flash lol ( only cos I am nosy )

How do they decide who to call for this service??

I would do it as a job lol.

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Random selection from all who are registered to vote. Around 150 people are contacted and told to be at court, every case 12 are randomly selected from the 150, the rest just stay in a waiting room. You can spend your whole 2 weeks service and not be picked once.

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Ahhhh thanks for that, always wondered how it worked.

So I will never come across an advertisement in the Observer for a full time " Jury servicer " then lmao

Oh well x

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I'd love to do it too, seems those that wantt o never seem to get picked :D

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I wouldn't mind doing it but in all my years I too have never been asked. :(

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I remember my mum telling me that my dad's mum once got picked to go on jury service. She was really frightened about it all and got a doctors sick note to excuse her from it.

I would be well chuffed if I got picked. But I want a really juicy case :D

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I would like to do jury service too.

I would like to sit on a case like the Harold Shipman case.

Not an old dear walks out of Spar with a loaf of bread without paying for it case. :)

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I would love to do it but never been called:

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You can go and watch trials anyway so why dont you just go and sit in the gallery?

Or is it just that satisfaction of the power to choose whether someone is guilty or not?

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Has anybody ever been to sit in the public gallery and watch a case

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yep only at accy magistrates, used to go regular in 60s, cos i always knew some buggar that was getting done.:D never been called for jury service,which suits me fine.

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Yeh I have with college and recently at uni, which is why I wonder people dont just do that if they're so desperate to see a case!

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Yeh .. course ... :D

Was called for Jury service in 1982, was pregnant with my son and the Expected Day of Arrival was that week. I was excused, as suppose they didn't fancy me going into labour during a case .... :D

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I would like to sit in on a high profile murder trial. I'm not interested in sitting in on a shoplifting or pub brawl case.

Unfortunately I was not born when Hindley and Brady were dealt with.

I was at school when the James Bulger trial took place.

I couldn't get the time off work to go to Preston to Harold Shipman's trial

It was too far and too expensive to get to the old Bailey for the Soham trial.

Should there be any more serious murder trials held at Preston I will go if I can.

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So its just about being a high profile murder trial? Any particular reason?

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I'd just like to see what goes on at these trials. How they are questioned, what questions are asked, what evidence is shown etc.

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One chap I worked with was forever being called - must have been 4 times that I remember -and once got excused because he knew the charged person.

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Never been asked to sit on a jury and not sure if I would want to!!

have been to Burnley Crown court as a witness, and they showed me round the court, explained what I should expect when called etc...

Luckily both defendants pleaded guilty so never got to say my piece :rolleyes:

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Well I believe some committee or other is trying to move towards trials being shown on television. Maybe some day in the near future you'll be able to watch without leaving the comfort of your own home :)

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A girl I was at school with got called about two weeks after her 18th birthday. My Grandma did it once and my brother in law got called a few months back but I've never been called.

I've been told that it can be incredibly boring as there's a lot of waiting around, so if you do ever get called, take a couple of books with you!

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LOl .. just had a thought.. he was born the week before, would I have been allowed to breast feed him in court ? Even if older .. ? What would be the ruling .. :D

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well if i had been the judge=YEH:D

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I did jury service when I lived in London. It was the time Barry George was to be tried for the murder of Jill Dando, and I was convinced I was going to be called for that, but would've be ineligible because she had been a customer of mine. I was also worried I'd miss my holiday.:D

I ended up doing two trials, one each week. The first was an aggravated burglary, and was quite straightforward, as he was as guilty as sin.

The second trial was a woman accused of GBH on a camera woman from SKY, who was filming Prince Andrew's visit to the London Eye. The woman and her two grown up children were trying to get to the ferry to Greenwich, which her kids had booked for her birthday treat.

I was elected foreman of the jury. Basically all eleven of the other jurors thought the woman was guilty beyond reasonable doubt, and I thought she was innocent.

We had to tell the judge we couldn't reach a majority verdict, then I had to stand up and tell the court we'd found her guilty. It was one of the hardest things I've had to do, and I felt like shouting out to the woman that I believed her!

The strangest thing about jury service is the seperation. You are kept away from anyone to do with your trial, you even eat in a seperate juror's dining room. Seperate that is until a recess is called. Then if you're a smoker you find yourself outside having a fag with the accused and all the witnesses.:D

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see ya been n awkward get from way back.:D

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i would love to be called up for jury service as i am a nosy person.
would love it to be something very serious like a murder trial.

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I have done jury service 6 times upto now 2 in Preston and 4 in Burnley
i have been jury foreman 3 times .
it can be very boring you might be picked for jury service but there is no guarantee you will get on a jury.

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It's odd how some people get called loads of times and others are never called at all. I wonder how they do the selecting.

That must have been awful. I would have found it almost impossible to tell the court we'd reached a guilty verdict when I personally didn't feel it was the right verdict. Couldn't you have done a Jimmy Stewart and convinced the rest of them? :(

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I spent hours and hours trying to convince them that there was more than reasonable doubt about her guilt.

Frighteningly the other jurors that she was 'posh', and that literally prejudiced them as to her motive, hence their verdict.

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If your selected are there limits as to where you might travel as it might be considered to far to travel, say the Old Bailey from example from up here?

Might you only attend cases say in northwest england for example and what about expenses do you get reimbursed, does your employer have to pay your wages still?

I wouldn't like to do it, not sure why just wouldn't like to do so, but I don't think you have any choice without good reason.

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I've just been called up for a second time, last time I wasn't needed, don't really want to do it this time but I don't have a choice.

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[quote=garinda;518661]and that literally prejudiced them/quote]
I'm sure I won't have a problem with that, I will listen to all the evidence and make my decision but if the defendant is a muslim from M&S who knows:rolleyes::eek:

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What sort of case were you a juror on?

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Was on a jury last year , the guy was up for scamming and theft , taking vehicles into the garage with false registration plates for new rims and tires and later going back after the place had closed for the day with a set of spare keys and 'collecting' the vehicle, after two weeks were were ready to accquit through lack of evidence but he changed his plea to guilty , seemed a bit odd to us .
We were told later why two of the main witnesses were unavailable , the garage employee had been found shot to death outside his home and the arresting police officer had died after being involved in a road accident , (his motor cycle had been run off the road) , since these happened in a different jurisdiction we were not allowed to be told any of this during the trial and he hadn't at the time been charged with any involvement the two incidents , been nothing in the papers since .
Interesting experience though :cool: :cool:

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Well we can rest assured that justice will be done in your fair and impartial hands!!!!!! :D

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I think you are selected to serve at your nearest Crown Court.

Travel costs are reimbursed, and you get an allowance for refeshments.

If you are likely to lose income by being called for jury service, you can claim back that cost too.

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I had a hoot.

We went to the pub every afternoon/evening, after we were dismissed, and I made some really good friends.

Very often we'd be in the same pub as the witnesses and the accused, which was a bit surreal.

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I believe that if you get called you have to be there for a minimum of two weeks and might never get called into a court room but equally you could get called in to be a juror on your last day there and you have to see out the whole trial - however long it takes!

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Sorry Garinda this is not true my dad was called for Jury service when we lived in Preston and he had to travel to Lancaster Castle every day for 6 weeks for a case.
you do get all your costs back though and if you work for a good firm they will pay you wages as there is no way out of doing jury service you can defur it a few months but in the end you have to do it.

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I have had some good cases and some stupid cases that should never have got to crown court
the first time was in Preston on a murder case
the second time was over 1 can of larger stolen from a shop yes its true:)
next was when i moved to Accrington
so was at Burnley
this was a child abuse case the accused looked the image of jim bowen
next time was a burglary
the next was an assult in the street in Colne
the last time i was on jury service i was not on a case till thursday then got picked for a murder case but there was a legal problem and they had to pick the jury again and i was not one that was picked next time
but on friday i got on a theft from a shop case.
it you have not been picked for a case they will normally let you leave about 2pm
but must be back at 9am the next day for at least 10 days

just a note if your picked for a case and the judge thinks it will be a long case then he will ask you if you can sit through it or if you have other things like hospital or holidays booked if you have they will step you down and pick a new jury member.

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Been called twice now , the first was a bit boring , i was only young and not interested, the second was a bit more interesting but unless its high profile case it can be a bit long winded.

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Exactly, it's good to see you're thinking along the same lines as me.:rolleyes:

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I was called up a few years ago. Sat around for a few days and they let many of us go as a couple of big cases had been postponed. It was as boring as hell. I would not wish it on anyone. If you do get called for a big case you could be stuck on it for months. No good if you work and don't want to be away for that long.

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One of my neighbours got called on his 18th birthday and again a couple of years after. I have never been called and really no wish to be so.

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I dont think I'd enjoy jury service. Much nicer to not have someones life in your hands in my opinion.

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You could read an educational book then instead.

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haha whenever sudoku is mentioned now I think of that woman who did the voice for the rail service.

Sudoku are crosswords for people who lack imagination.

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Been called twice and both times have got out of it. First time due to a bad back the doctor wrote me a letter, second my boss wrote a letter asking for me to be excused.

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Well.... I'll go to t'foot of our stairs! :D

I don't believe this has happened after talking so recently about the fact that I'd never been called for Jury Service.

This morning I received a summons from Her Majesty's Court requesting my presence for Jury Service at Burnley Crown Court at the end of March!

I hope it's not any of you lot.....I wouldn't want to meet an Accywebber under such circumstances! :eek:

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Just hope there's nobody up for drinking shandy in a public place! ;)

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Hahahaha I get the joke. :D

Very funny. :)

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Nah its not the shandy case she'll get, it's the old dear who hasn't paid for her loaf case :D:rolleyes:

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When It's said that people are picked at random, perhaps really it's members of accyweb who's names are picked at random for jury service as numerous members on here have been picked, and several times over too.:D

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There's a chance we could be on the same case then.:)

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id love to be part of a jury, maybe one day eh?

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Have you been summoned for the end of March too?

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Sort of but it depends what case I get on, I think I could just have finished when you start.

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I shall report back and let you know how I get on. :)

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OMG how spooky is that ( I had a premonition, I saw you on jury service lilly ):D

Please can you ask them to send me one through when you go :D

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I did jury service for a week in 1979 at Burnley Crown Court. Can't say that i enjoyed it.

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Received a phone call today from Burnley Crown Court saying I'm not needed in March and would I defer until May which I agreed to. This is what happened the last time I was called up and they forgot about me for 7 years.

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Well I'm glad I never have and I don't want to. I don't want to make a decision on what is often flimsy evidence but could be evidence that would if taken into account convict a guilty party. I worry about other people far too much.

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At one time they used to mark people eligibe for jury service with a J on the electoral register, but they stopped that many years ago, don't know why

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Well guys. I have to report to Burnley Crown Court for jury service tomorrow so wish me luck. :)

I'm a little bit nervous but only because it's something I've never done before. I'm also looking forward to the experience.

I just hope I actually get to sit on a case and don't just spend the day hanging about.

I'll let you know how I get on.

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Don't think you'll get a busy day tomorrow, most of them are for sentencing :cool:

http://www.courtnews1.co.uk/courtlis...T080331.01.htm

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Here ya go...... ya can always sit on this case, if the other one fails :D

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LOL. Cheers Slinky. :D

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Thanks for that link, Lancsdave.

How marvellous. Looks like I'll be spending the morning waiting around then. :(

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You are mad, good luck Lilly

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Someone had said !! :D:D

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Good luck Lilly, and try and remember that hanging isn't an option anymore.:D

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Unfortunately:eek:

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There's probably a joke there, about the only criminal worth seeing being a well hung criminal, but I couldn't be so rude.:rolleyes:

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No not a good idea behave yourself (for once):p

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Well, what a day!

It was utterly ghastly. I was up at 7am and caught the 7.50 am bus to Burnley. I didn't have to be at court until 9.30am but the bus to Burnley was only once an hour so it was either catch the 7.50am bus to arrive in Burnley at 8.20am or catch the 8.50am bus to arrive in Burnley at 9.20am.
I went for the earlier one to allow for some wandering about getting lost time as I don't know Burnley and I got to court at 8.45am.

I sat on my own in the jury room at court until about 9.15am when the others started to arrive. There were 30 of us by 9.30am.

At about 10am the court usher came into the room and proceeded to take us through the jury dos and don'ts and we were shown round a court room. This bit was very interesting and we learnt who sits where in a court room and we got to sit in the jury area. :)

We were then taken back to the jury room and shown a video about what being a juror entails.

We were talked at all morning until 12 noon which was quite draining. There was one juror who kept nodding off and snoring like a train, very annoying and God only knows what he'd be like on a trial, he couldn't stay awake for 10 mins at a time. :(

At 12 noon, 30 people were whittled down to 18. Twelve were sent home, told they wouldn't be needed tomorrow and to ring court at 4pm tomorrow to see if they would be required on Wednesday. I was one of the 18 who stayed on.

Lunch was from 1pm until 2.15pm and we were issued with a smart card with £5.27 credit (what a strange amount) on it to buy our lunch in the canteen. The jurors have a separate canteen. It was very small and the selection was abysmal. There were about 6 plastic sandwiches to choose from or we could have pastie or steak pudding and chips....urgh. If I'd eaten that I'd have been snoring away like that fella. :(

Luckily there were some lovely people and I met a few like minded folk to go for a fag with. Here lies the funny thing. They give jurors a separate canteen to keep them apart from the defendants but when you go outside for a fag there's no separation, you could be standing next to anybody! :eek:

At 2.15pm we went back to the jury room and were told that there was to be a trial in the afternoon. The barristers were just debating some points of law and then a jury would be sworn in. We sat in that little room, with that fella snoring his head off, from 2.15pm until 4.30pm. It was like being in the Doctor's waiting room for 2 hours. For 2 hours we sat there like cheese at fourpence and then the usher came to tell us that the three lads on trial has just pleading guilty to drugs offences and therefore there would be no need for a trial. :mad:

We were free to leave, we will not be needed tomorrow and we have to ring to see if we will be needed on Wednesday, just like the others. I had just missed the 4.20pm bus so I walked with another juror from Accrington to the bus station to see what time the next one was.....not until 5.40pm as it turned out. We were totally fed up by this point so she, who knew Burnley much better then me, suggested we go to the train station. We ended up getting on a train at 5pm and arrived back in Accrington at 5.20pm. Luckily my hubby had just finished work at this point so he picked me up in Accy and I was home for 5.40pm, the same time as I would have been getting on the bus in Burnley if I'd waited for that. :(

God, I thought that this jury malarky was going to be so exciting. I suppose it is if you actually get to sit on a trial but the waiting around is horrendous if you don't. Thank God I had my mum helping me out with childcare as I don't know what I would have done otherwise. Who else can you ask to pick your kids up from school when you can't even say what time you'll be home each day? It could be 1pm, 2pm, 4pm or 5.30pm, you could get sent home at any time.:(

It was a total waste of time and we are no further on than we were at 9am this morning. I'm dreading Wednesday now and as I am not in court tomorrow I will have to go in to work. They were expecting me to be absent for 2 weeks so I will have to listen to cries of 'what are you doing here?' and repeat this sorry tale about 20 times.

The good news is that if you get summoned again within the next 2 years you have the right to refuse. After the day I've had, if I get called again within 2 years, I won't hesitate to refuse.

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It is the daftest thing ever, as I posted earlier when I did jury service in London, you're kept totally isolated until you have to go outside for a cigarette, when it's cons, jury, and lawyers, all puffing away together.:D

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Have to agree, I went for a fag at Burnley crown court, was a prosecution witness and was kept in the witness room, but when I went out for a fag I bumped into one of the defendants :eek: as I went down the stairs and he was going up!!!!!!!

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Did he shake your hand and thank you for coming Red:D

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Well, I phoned court today to see if they want me to go in tomorrow and they do.

I am hoping that it will not be another day of waiting around like Monday. The thought of another 8 days of that makes me want to cry. :(

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OH ******!!! and here was me wishing it was me!! not now....poor Lilly :(

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Today was just as bad as Monday only not quite as long. :(

I arrived at 10.15am, all 30 of us had been asked to return today. At 11am 30 were whittled down to 18 and again I was one of the 18 asked to stay on.

We were told that there were two trials on for today. We sat waiting for 2 hours and at 1pm we were told that both defendants had pleaded guilty to their charges therefore both trials would not be happening. :mad:

The 12 people whose names hadn't been picked out were told that they could go home. They will not be needed tomorrow and no trials start on Fridays (courts only run on Fridays for existing trials) so they were told to return on Monday morning at 10.30am.

For one blissful moment we thought that we too would be released as scheduled trials for today would not be going ahead. Then another man entered the room and said to the usher that there was the possibility that a trial would be coming over from Preston this afternoon. Just a possibilty mind, the judge was going to make a decision over lunch and would let us know after that. We were told at 1pm to go for some lunch and return at 2.15pm to see if we would be required this afternoon.

This was all too similar to Monday. We moaned and groaned and thought we would be stuck there until 4.30pm again. We had our lunch and a mooch round Burnley and returned to court at 2.15pm. At 3pm the usher informed us that the trial is indeed coming to Burnley from Preston.......but not until tomorrow so we were free to go and could we come back tomorrow morning at 10.30am. :(

It is absolutely soul destroying. I was told by many people before I started this to expect some waiting but I never expected this much waiting! Two full days of it.....and it's not over yet. What's the betting that we turn up tomorrow, hang about all morning, go for lunch and then the defendant pleads guilty in the afternoon and we get sent home again?

It's another world in that court. Five minutes means half an hour and half an hour means a morning. :mad:

No-one arrives at court before 10.30am, lunch is 1pm - 2.15pm and they finish for the day at 4pm.....and so much wasted time in between.

It also appears to be the case that the barristers do everything in their power to get the defendant to plead guilty therefore eliminating the need for a trial. They spend ages persuading and bargaining with them and finally it seems to work and they do. All very good for the barristers I suppose who still get their wages without having to go through the hassle of cross examining them in trial. Not so good for the poor sods on jury service who are wasting hours on end sitting in a waiting room.

To top it all off the snoring man was there again today, treating us all to the sound of his wonderful repertoire of farm animal noises. :mad:

Another week of this and I reckon I might be the one in the dock on a murder charge. :mad:

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LMFAO!!! I'm not laughing at your court ordeal, I'm laughing at the possibility of you killing the snoring man :D:D

If you end up killing him, and I am on Jury at your trial..... please don't plead guilty!! have a thought for us poor sods waiting round will ya :D:D:D

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This is going to do my head in when I do my bit in May, I am an active person who can't stand hanging around doing nothing. I can see myself getting so frustrated that I will be off and get fined £1000 or whatever it is.

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I hope that you don't have an experience like mine, Bagpuss. If money was no object I'd have willingly handed over £1000 by now just to get out of there. When all this is over I hope I never have to set foot in that building ever again.

Yet another wasted day today. We arrived at 10.30am. There were quite a few people milling about today, barristers, police, ordinary people who were probably friends and relatives of the people involved in the trial.
We were quite hopeful that something was finally about to happen.

We sat in the jury room chatting and doing crosswords all morning, lunch time came at 1pm and nothing at all had happened. :(

We were told to go for lunch and come back at 2.15pm. At 2.45pm the usher came in and would you believe it? The defendant had just pleaded guilty to his charge, there would be no trial and we were free to go home.

No trials start on a Friday so we have been told to return for our second week of jury service on Monday at 10.30am. The usher apologised to us for a week's worth of our time being wasted. I would hate to have his job, none of this is his fault but I bet he gets so much abuse and anger directed at him out of sheer frustration.

When we had our first wasted day on Monday I never dreamt that we would get to the end of the week and still be in the same position, incarcerated in that jury room every day, never setting foot in a court room. :mad:

I hope to God that next week is not a repeat of this week. If so, I fear for my sanity. :(

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Bloody hell Lilly, what a nightmare :(

How long does this go on for??

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You dont need to do that...just pinch an apple and get caught...appear in court...get a slapped hand and never do jury service again. :p

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Thanks for your sympathy, Slinky. :)

It is a nightmare. One that I hope to wake up from very soon.

I was called up for 2 weeks. I've just done week one so next week will be my last week.........forever, I hope.

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I hope for your sake it's forever too!! and I have changed my mind!! I don't want to do Jury service THANKYOU!

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Sounds like a complete nightmare Lilly hope I never get called

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It's been dreadful, Bernadette. I hope you or anyone else on here never get called. I think I've managed to sour a few people's minds to the idea of jury service with tales of my experience of it.

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After reading your story I would try my best to avoid it though I know you can't just refuse to attend. Hope things look up a bit next week. Reading between the lines it sounds as if the accused are acting on advice from their counsel and changing their plea at the last minute.

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You're right, Bernadette. You can't just refuse to attend without very good reason. You can defer if you are called up and you will be on holiday that week but then they will just send for you later on in the year. :(

Re the guilty pleas, it appears that barristers do everything possible to get defendants to plead guilty before the trial. This way the barristers still get their wages but have less work to do. They don't have to read through reams of evidence and go to the trouble of cross examining people.

For the defendant, pleading guilty before the trial starts rather than being found guilty by a jury gets them a lesser sentence. The barristers do all kinds of bargaining with them. Very often the barristers have a very good idea that their client will plead guilty but until the defendant has officially stood in the dock and said the word 'guilty' they cannot dismiss the people waiting in the jury room in case he suddenly changes his mind at the last minute then the case would go to trial and the jury would be needed.