Jury service

Never…neither of us either….and we lived in this house for coming up to 25 years in November and the last one for 20 years,both in Cheadle Hulme……if they can’t be bothered asking by now then I certainly won’t be bothered if they never do.

On the flip side I was called to attend as a witness in a fraud case which was held at Minshull Street which was a high security court due to it being used for serious offences including terrorism so you can imagine how much security there was on entering the building.The really strange thing was that before the court went into session the accused was sat only a few feet away.I had never met her as my involvement had been to go through the accounting records,etc to help prove the fraud.
The stupid woman pleaded not guilty when quite frankly the evidence against her was watertight.Fortunately I was never required to enter the witness stand but had to sit outside the court,you can’t go in during the trial if you’re not called,so you just sit there twiddling your thumbs until they say you are no longer need that day.
She was found guilty and was given a 6 months sentence and ordered to repay the stolen funds which meant eventually her house had to put up for sale.
Served her right for being stupid as the judge( I was told) in his judgement told her she had wasted the courts time and the sentence reflected that.
Off she went to Style Prison😀
 
I was asked way back in 2002 but the kids were young and they couldn’t guarantee what time I’d be home so I got relieved of my duties.
Shame really, would have liked to have done it.
That said there is a lot of waiting around and not being picked so I’ve gathered and that sounds like a total borefest.
Hope you get a bite of the cherry soon Junior 👍
 
Junior_BentsPlatformShoes said:
Day one: Turned up, most exciting thing was emptying all the stuff out of my pockets to go through airport type security, free dinner, not chosen for jury panel, mostly boring so far.
Anyone else done it?
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I was called up for jury service at Preston Court in 2001. Initially it was very similar to your experience, I managed to read a couple of books during my fortnight, and I got paid by my employer whilst I was there (not all employers did). But eventually I ended up as the foreman (sorry foreperson) in a GBH case in Blackpool Town centre. That became quite an interesting case which lasted a few days. Mrs Dave was asked to do jury service soon after, but the kids were primary school age and we couldn't get child care, so she was excused like Lala.

I enjoyed my experience, but there was a lot of waiting around with nothing happening. They sent me home on the 2nd Wednesday so I got a couple of days off. Hope you enjoy your experience Junior.
 
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I did it about 30 years ago when I lived in Bolton. Courts reimbursed me for lost wages and paid a lunch allowance. Did a couple of short trials, then volunteered to sit in on a trial expected to last 6 weeks (I had a crappy job, and this was far more interesting). Trial turned out to be really dull and most of us had difficulty keeping track of days and days of technical evidence. Luckily the judge summarised quite frequently.

The summing up and statements were on a Friday morning, followed by the judge's direction, and we were all glad it was coming to an end as we sat in the retirement room and discussed all we had seen and heard, but there was no concensus among us, so at 4 pm we were asked to come into court to summarise where the jury were at with multiple defendants...

It was clear that there was no majority decision so at this point we were all bussed to a nearby hotel to spend a miserable Friday night in relative isolation, with police going to all our houses to collect overnight supplies and attire. The hotel was nice, the food was good and I even managed to have a couple of cheeky lagers before being instructed to retire at 10pm, ready for an early start on Saturday morning.

Bussed back to the court for 8am, we again sat for an hour, eventually arriving at an average 8-4 majority on 5 decisions.
Judge really unhappy at lack of decision as it turned out he was a massive Wanderers fan and they had been having a good cup run and a home tie later that day.
He virtually blackmailed us into making a decision in the next hour, because he was going to the game regardless, or another two miserable nights in a hotel away from our families.

Needless to say, some conscience wrestling happened in the next hour and ab end was brought to the trial. With folk being guilty or not.

Don't think I'd be keen to repeat the experience, but everyone should have a go.
 
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ilson said:
I did it about 30 years ago when I lived in Bolton. Courts reimbursed me for lost wages and paid a lunch allowance. Did a couple of short trials, then volunteered to sit in on a trial expected to last 6 weeks (I had a crappy job, and this was far more interesting). Trial turned out to be really dull and most of us had difficulty keeping track of days and days of technical evidence. Luckily the judge summarised quite frequently.

The summing up and statements were on a Friday morning, followed by the judge's direction, and we were all glad it was coming to an end as we sat in the retirement room and discussed all we had seen and heard, but there was no concensus among us, so at 4 pm we were asked to come into court to summarise where the jury were at with multiple defendants...

It was clear that there was no majority decision so at this point we were all bussed to a nearby hotel to spend a miserable Friday night in relative isolation, with police going to all our houses to collect overnight supplies and attire. The hotel was nice, the food was good and I even managed to have a couple of cheeky lagers before being instructed to retire at 10pm, ready for an early start on Saturday morning.
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Was asked in 1991 but my husband had just been diagnosed with a brain tumour so I was given dispensation…if I was selected again I think I’d be worried that it would be a harrowing case…

Hopefully, yours won’t be though 😀
 
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I did it about 5 years ago and loved it! I was chosen in the very first case on the Monday morning and then got on a second case the following Monday morning.

Would’ve liked a murder trial but never mind!
 
bleach51 said:
…and the verdict was😁😳😳🤔🥲or😡
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The trial was about a scrapyard crew who were 'ringing' cars. It was 30 years ago, most were found guilty, one was not. I think Bolton won :)
I had to edit my post so you can read the result now, ha ha
 
Been asked twice and always found a way out of going.
I'm self-employed and just can't afford the time off and no way I'm giving up on a holiday to do jury service.
 
Yes, I have done it, two cases one guilty one not. I had just started a new business at the time but when duty calls you crack on with it.

Two interesting weeks and a look under the cover of the court system.
 
I did it a few weeks ago and there was a fair bit of faffing about, but overall really interesting and strangely enjoyable (once you got on a case).
 
Done it twice in the space of three years. Found it intense, frustrating, infuriating but very interesting. Last time was a murder trial.
 
Got called last year, but with a week to go, my service was cancelled. It was because of Covid there was a backlog of very serious cases taking quite a few weeks so they did not need new juries... murder and drug gangs etc.

A friend who has done jury service in Liverpool said the most harrowing was a child sex abuse case involving incest. So I was quite happy to avoid those sorts of experience. You cannot unsee what you have seen. But I suppose someone has to do it, so I would not refuse jury service on principle.
 
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done it in the coroners court at the Town Hall. I was head juror too. Pretty much told by the coroner what verdict to give.
 
I did it in the seventies. 2 weeks it took. Basically it was a bloke who had nicked a shirt from C&A. It was a waste of tax payers money really. The guy was found not guilty on a 10 to 2 verdict. He actually had originally confessed to the crime and then retracted it saying the Police had made him sign a confession hence it went to Crown Court. I found the worst bit was getting sworn in it felt like I was on trial having to do it in front of all the barristers etc.
I’ll never forget the shirt he allegedly nicked it had “Uncle Abe’s Bootleg brew” on the front. It was bloody funny when the barristers kept referring to it.
 
I was called up for jury service just before covid struck, which I was a bit wary of doing, then due to covid I was released from the duty😁…so no never done it…
 
I did it last year. First day, not picked - very boring. Then on a drugs case for a week... ended up as Foreman. The evidence was overwhelming but one juror "couldn't ever find someone guilty unless they saw them do it with their own eyes". Another felt sorry for the criminal because they'd had "a hard life" - but not the victims, strangely enough. Second case was GBH. Nowadays, they only use expensive Crown Courts for serious cases we were told. Quite enjoyed the court "action" but wasn't eligible for any financial recompense (i.e. lost wages etc) apart from the miniscule lunch allowance and travel expenses they offer nowadays...so glad I only did 2 weeks.
The most interesting thing was going down for a potential case to have to declare I knew the defendant (unusual surname and I taught him as a 10 year old nearly 30 years ago 🙀)... that ended up being a 3 month case, I read - multiple sex attacks at a variety of workplaces.
My 20 something daughter was on a multiple rape case in Manchester the other year and found it all very harrowing (understandably).
 
BlackpoolWolves said:
I did it last year. First day, not picked - very boring. Then on a drugs case for a week... ended up as Foreman. The evidence was overwhelming but one juror "couldn't ever find someone guilty unless they saw them do it with their own eyes". Another felt sorry for the criminal because they'd had "a hard life" - but not the victims, strangely enough. Second case was GBH. Nowadays, they only use expensive Crown Courts for serious cases we were told. Quite enjoyed the court "action" but wasn't eligible for any financial recompense (i.e. lost wages etc) apart from the miniscule lunch allowance and travel expenses they offer nowadays...so glad I only did 2 weeks.
The most interesting thing was going down for a potential case to have to declare I knew the defendant (unusual surname and I taught him as a 10 year old nearly 30 years ago 🙀)... that ended up being a 3 month case, I read - multiple sex attacks at a variety of workplaces.
My 20 something daughter was on a multiple rape case in Manchester the other year and found it all very harrowing (understandably).
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The 1st time I did it I'd say 8 of the jury just couldn't understand the case or the even the basics. They wanted a smoking gun 1 million witnesses and fingerprints to be "sure" regardless of the mass of spoken and written evidence. The weird thing is you realise why you have the friends you have, it's because you all have the same values and it's a strange experience when you sit round a table with 11 others, some with utterly bizarre views. One of the jurors didn't seem to think much wrong about a responsible person having sex with a minor as she claimed male teachers slept with some of her friends at school. I just despaired at the mentality. On the 2nd occasion, which was a murder trial I had a good sensible bunch. There was debate and disagreement at times, but it was a grown up affair that restored my faith.
 
I've never been called up thank goodness but my mother was and had a week of hanging about. She wasn't called upon to serve on a jury.
 
Did it once about ten years ago. Got a rape case at the end of day one that took me through to day eight, at which point I was allowed to finish a bit early.

I found it a dispiriting experience really, as I felt we reached the wrong verdict because people on the jury were not really paying enough attention to how some of the key participants changed their story under challenge. Just my view of course.
 
MrsDP was called to do it Beds.
A lot of wasted time, although she did get on a jury.
I wasn't allowed because of my job.
 
I did it about 20 odd years ago,had a prostitution case,we had whips and hand cuffs etc in the jury room,had a right laugh.I volunteered to do a 3rd week as work were paying me and so were the court.Got sent home a few days as well when not required .I found it very interested but I did worry about some of the jurors not seeming to grasp the cases correctly .
 
I've done it twice and would do it again quite happily. In fact, I'd be happy to be a professional juror
 
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