Summons for jury service...thoughts please ?

[Scully]

Hello All,

 

Questions .....

A summons arrived yesterday for jury service...a minimum of 2 weeks...could be longer depending on the trial.

 

The crown crown court is 3/4 hour away ( if there's no traffic ) then parking each day at a cost.

Assume I can find an all day car park, Can I actually walk from the car park to the court twice a day?

 

I gather the court will make adjustments for disabled people regarding access etc..

 

Thing is. Can I sit all day in a hard chair, in a confined space?

 

When I swallow my Baclofen, and Pregabalin...can I concentrate for long periods ? Probably not.

 

What happens to my afternoon dozy time?..I don't think taking a nap in court will use go down well, and probably cause a mis-trial ).

And, if I don't get my nap...will I be ok to walk back to the car, then drive home in the rush hour. ( why do they call it a 'rush hour '...nothing rushes anywhere )

 

Anyone else done jury service....there doesn't seem to be a get out as far as I can tell..I've checked the court documents and online, there seems to be three 'get outs ....

1) mental capacity....( don't think so )

2) convicted criminal record ( nope )

3) dead...( ..nope )

 

As a retired criminal lawyer, I pretty much know how it works and I know that there is a need for disabled people to take part..I do not have a problem with the principal...it's just the logistics..

 

Input much appreciated please?

 

Scully

Edited 8 Jun 2017, 6:24 am by Scully

[Stumbler]

I got called a few years ago.

 

I just explained that I would need to park very close to the court and my incontinence may lead to needing breaks in the proceedings.

 

I was excused without a problem.

 

This was the third time I'd been called. I did the first one. The second one arrived just after I moved, so the logistics of travelling about 100 miles, with the possibility of unavoidable delays got me excused from that one.

 

Just explain your circumstances. There's lots of people that could be called, that have never been called.

 

[Nick]

I've never been asked, As somebody who was in the Merchant Navy and away most of the time, it was apparently a career where you would be excused.

I would expect allowances to be made, for it to be practical for disabilities to be taken into account.

If asked I would like to be able to do it, but quite agree that with MS it would be difficult to explain the possible pitfalls to somebody who in all probability would simply feel you were trying to avoid it.

 

Nick

[Skippysprite]

I was called up last year Scully so wrote to them explaining my problems and also giving permission to contact my GP and neuro team, and they excused me.

 

There was no way I could cope with what they required.

 

Pam x

[Scully]

Thanks for the replies all.

Will give it a go and see if I can be excused.

I'd kinda liked to have done it, sorta being on the other side of the fence as it were, I just can't see how I can do the driving every day, the walking from the car park...quite apart from staying awake all day!

Scully

x

[Scully]

Hello All,

 

Thank you all so much for your input regrading my summoning for Jury Service.

 

I completed the form, constructed a letter setting out my reasons. And, by return, I received a letter telling my I had been excused and will not be required to attend.

 

I would have liked to have done it, but, it just isn't practical for me now.

 

Scully

 

 

 

 

[Marc]

I've never been called but it certainly would be difficult for me if I was.

 

Thing is, I work full time which would probably work against me if I was to try to be excused. I do work from home a couple of days a week, maybe could do Jury duty via video link lol.

[Nick]

I don't think anybody is going to be to keen when asked to do jury service. There is however the thought that as a society we depend on justice and an important part of justice is having a diverse jury. Our immediate thoughts, and I include myself, is on how we might avoid the difficulties of the whole thing by avoiding jury service. Yet should we be unfortunate enough to find ourselves in front of the court, we would expect an honest and bias free jury to deliver a verdict. That is an interesting way of looking at it, particualy when it comes to problems concerning having a diverse jury. A jury would clearly benefit from having a perspective of somebody with a disability such as MS.

Hey, Ho, Just glad I am not having to face any of those dilemmas and don't need to give it much consideration.

 

It's a loverly day here and I'm out in the sunshine watching the antics of some very noisy swifts, who sound just like a mob of screaming delinquents, as they wheel about the sky.

 

Nick

[Marc]

I agree Nick, it is something we should encourage ourselves to do if called upon. I suppose it's easy to use our condition as an excuse but we have to remember that we try not to do so in our other daily activities.

 

Yes, it's a beautiful day and I'm working from home and going to physio later on but my heart goes out to those suffering in West London this morning.

[Scully]

Don't get me wrong here chaps.

 

As a retired lawyer, I am only too aware of the need for a broad range of jurors from varying backgrounds to perform this service.

If I didn't need to stretch regularly, or give in to the dreadful fatigue, from both the MS and the meds, I would have done everything I could to have got there.

If I forgoe the meds, in favour of staying awake and alert, I doubt I'd have been able to drive the hour home in heavy traffic...not safely anyways.

MS or not, if I could have made it for two weeks minimum without having to call in sick and either delay a trial or worse, cause a mis- trial coz I'd nodded off. It happens on juries, I've experienced a few mis trials where a juror or worse a legal team member has nodded off !

I would have been there if it were possible, it just isn't. I dare say they will call me again!

 

Scully

 

[Stumbler]

Scully, they probably won't call you again. They'll probably record you as permanently excused on health grounds.

 

But. here's my tale of 12 good men and true, to give you an idea of what goes on in jury service.

 

I served in the mid 70s. My first case was a couple of young villains, who were living off immoral earnings. They were involved with some prostitutes working Park Lane in the west end of London.

 

As i recall, the evidence suggested that there was no money changing hands, but the two "villains" were constantly treated to a burger and a cup of tea! But, the evidence did stack up against them, even though it was obvious that the Police had corroborated their own evidence.

 

I will never travel down Park Lane again, without looking for Bus stop numbers, 1, 2 and 3.

 

Anyway, twelve good men and true?

 

We were sent out to "deliberate" at the start of day three.

 

First, we went around the table to get initial verdicts. There was some disagreement , but I will always recall an elderly West Indian gentleman. Think Lenny Henry doing his Dad. He just said, "Dem are bad boys and they are guilty. And that's all I'm saying!"

 

And, that's all he did say.

 

It didn't take long to reach an unanimous verdict. The "villains" were guilty, even though the police evidence was highly suspect. But it was only 10:00!

 

So, we agreed to stay within the jury room until 11:45 and then deliver the verdict. We could foresee the Court accepting the verdict, going into recess for lunch, resuming to give sentence and then sending us home for the rest of the afternoon! That was our plan.

 

Phase 1 worked perfectly and we were sent for lunch.

 

We thought phase 2 was a certainty. So, we thought we should congratulate ourselves on doing our civic duty.............and hit the pub. After all, how long could sentencing last.........

 

Well, we returned on time. The first part of the sentencing process is to perform a resume of the guilty party's track record.

 

Well, these two villains had a track record that was as long as your arm and then some. This process was going on and on.

 

I was the first to crack, calling the court gopher over to whisper I needed the toilet.

 

He had to go to the Clerk to the Court, who sits in front and below the judge and whisper in his ear, turning and pointing at me.

 

The Clerk to the Court had to stand up and whisper in the Judge's ear, gesticulating in my direction.

 

The Judge then announced that "any of the members of the jury that needed the toilet may do so".

 

And..........................................ten of us jumped up and ran to the toilet, with us blokes sharing due to our need!

 

It was like something out of a "Carry on........" film!

 

We were just fortunate that our "need" didn't cause a Court Recess, as we'd heard all the evidence and delivered our verdict. We didn't really need to see justice being delivered, so didn't interrupt the Court process.

 

We were eventually sent home for the rest of the day.

 

So, Scully, 12 good men and true? Not really.

 

Perhaps we should try and get other stories from those that have also served on a jury. This may satisfy your professional curiosity.

 

Edited 15 Jun 2017, 6:18 am by Stumbler

[Nick]

The men in our realm shall have and hold all the aforesaid liberties, rights and concessions well and peacefully, freely and quietly, fully and completely for them and their heirs of us and our heirs in all things and places for ever

 

Magna Carta, clause 63

 

Its all be around a long time .......1215 in fact

[Scully]

Oh the stories I could tell about life in court as a defence solicitor!

 

Imagine how I fought to keep a straight face when I stood in front of a Stipendary Magistrate and announced..

" the case before you this morning concerns a stolen suitcase, containing a dead dog".

At which point the Stipe looked up and said..." I'm sorry, I thought you said a dead dog"...

"Yes Your Worship, that's correct"

Pause.

"I'm all ears, off you go"

 

Or the 3 crims that hijacked a Hewlett Packard truck, thinking they had a truck full of Computers......only to find after a police chase, impounding of said truck, and after examining the contents they found that what they had in fact stolen were.

50,000 boomerangs with the HP Logo on

25,000 HewlettPackard T- shirts

And.. 100,000 balloons......all bound for a large promotional event..

 

The crims defence......."if we thought that's what was inside, we'd never have taken it.....

Guilty as charged.

 

Over some 17 years, there isn't much I haven't seen...or heard !

 

Scully

[Nindancer]

It's funny but it actually occurred to me the other day that I had no idea what'd happen if I was called up for jury service - I always thought it'd be interesting but don't think I could do it now!

Relieved to hear these snippets

Sonia x

[Scully]

 

'Scully, they probably won't call you again. They'll probably record you as permanently excused on health grounds !

 

 

Not sure about being permanently excused Stumbler....the letter that arrived says...

'We have excused your attendance on this occasion'......

So they will probably get me next time !!!

 

Scully

 

[Stumbler]

'So they will probably get me next time !!!'

 

 

If there is a next time. My wife has never been called and she'd love to do it.

 

Edited 22 Jun 2017, 6:21 am by Stumbler

[Scully]

I think you may be right about that.

In an ideal world I'd be happy to do it. I guess when I told them I'd need to pee often and needed an afternoon nap.....lol

Scully