The jury service queries thread

[Babooshka]

I sat on a jury almost 5 years ago and it was one of the most emotionally draining experiences of my life. I sat on two cases. One was a complete joke cos you just KNEW the person or people in question were guilty as hell but the prosecution were hopeless. My other half sat in and observed and after the case was over he told me that he had overheard the coppers talking about the defendants and how they had hoped that this would have been the time they were brought to justice. Apparantly, they had been in and out of court so many times but the evidence against them was insufficient on each occasion. That is how it goes though, so I don't have a problem with that.

The second case was much more involved and after much deliberation we returned with a guilty verdict. I have never felt so guilty myself!! The responsibility for this other person's immediate future is overwhelming, and I broke down in tears at the end of the trial. This person is now out of prison (I am pleased to hear) and I hope he is making a new life for himself. Some people do make one terrible mistake in their lives.

The thing I found most disturbing about the whole experience was not the trial itself but the jurors on the case. I really have no faith in the jury system. Some of the jurors should have still been in school judging by what they demonstrated of the education they had received. Some were clueless as to their role. Some were just far too young to understand the responsibility. I heard so many comments like 'I fancy him, so no way is he guilty', and 'guilty or not, he has come to trial so let's send him down', and 'what did he do, again?' Some couldn't even string a sentence together. Some just couldn't be arsed to try. In the end it seemed to be about 5 of us that were discussing it in great depth. Heaven knows how the others reached their verdicts. We tried so hard to get some input but our attempts were just futile. I ended up having a row with a fellow juror at the end cos he made some very appropriate comment across the court to the defendant..who was, by all accounts, going through hell.

I was shocked and appalled and feel that a revision of this system is long overdue. I personally feel (and I am really opening myself up to attack here) that the people who would be most qualified to undertake such a duty, are the ones who can always find reasons for exemption.

If you are called for jury service my top tip is this: your first opinions may not always be true. When you come to reread the notes that you have taken during the trial, you will probably find that you feel the exact opposite as you thought you did whilst in the court. Be prepared to change your minds!

[bellis]

my mum did jury service a few years ago she said it was very boring indeed plus the exspenses a member of a jury gets it quite laughable

 

i no when the trial was on she rang me every night trying to tell me stuff about the case kept telling her i didnt want to no then when it was time to decide the fate of the accused she said she couldnt decide if to go guilty or not guilty , i just told her to toss a coin:)

 

always wanted to do jury service but as i have a police record (and no its not regatta de blanc ) there is no chance i will be able to judge my peers

[lizzmobile]

I was called up for jury service in London after returning a call letter for someone who no longer lived in the apartment block where I lived so I guess I dropped myself in it, but anyway...

 

I totally agree with you Babooshka, it was emotionally draining and I cried a bunch too, even tho' the were soooo guilty. Me and this other lady were gripping each other's hands when they delivered the verdict.

 

The crime was the murder using a knife of a priest in a crack den run by a prostitute. There was the perp and an accessory and they we both in the dock.

 

The main witness was a hooker who had been on the game since she was 14 and who met the one who was the accessory when he raped her. Nice. They thought the priest was an informant when in fact, so it was claimed, he was trying to convert them all to Christianity. He wasn't there to defend himself so I can't say what I thought he was up to.

 

I have never witnessed (if that's the right word) such a lack of respect for the system - one of the suppsed witnesses, street named James Bond, more like James Brown, said Yeah man to the Judge when spoken to, slumped on the witness stand and said "might have" when questioned about his statement. None of the witnesses had any kind of respectful structure to their lives, it was get up late (like noon), turn a few tricks to get ££, or clip a client, get bombed on crack etc all day and night and start all over again. No intention of ever working to get out of the cycle, it was a real eye-opener I can tell you, and it made me really thankful for my Silverdale/Millhouses education and life for the first time ever.

 

The main defendant lied soooo badly about how it had happened but he would have had to have been a professional knife juggler to carry out the manoeuvre he claimed actually got the chap in the chest. They all had street names like Smiler and Mandred etc, and it was very confusing when trying to get our heads round all the difference characters. The photos of the flat/crack den were just vile. Squalid doesn't even come close.

 

The counsel for the defense was a complete p***k, for want of a more vulgar word, and we all hated him, the pompous git. We upset him at one stage by seeing straight through what he was trying to do and scoffing but no consequences were brought.

 

So, anyways we finally found them guilty by unanimous verdict and the police were dancing in the aisles, elated that this pair had finally been nailed. They took us for a drink afterwards (v. unorthodox) and told us all the other stuff they had done prior to the case. One night, they took a minicab ride with no intention of paying, and in fact robbed to driver, and when he protested at their doing a runner, the accesory chap just lifted up a machete and sliced off the taxi driver's thumb. Nice bloke!

 

I was paid exactly the amount I would have been paid at work (private company not public sector) and as I would have had to pay for food everyday anyway, was not out of pocket. The people on the jury were a really mixed bunch and we did have a real laugh and hooked up a few times afterwards to talk about it. Now that we could.

 

In a weird way I enjoyed it, I am sure I would not have been able to handle a rape case, and you can request not to sit on such a case if you are likely to find it traumatic. Now that I have been a jury member on a murder I can legitimatley refuse to participate again if called. I have had nightmares about it since and I will never forget it.

[Jan39]

I did jury service a few years ago,I was reluctant ,and tried to get out of doing it because I was reccuperating from treatment I had received at the hospital,I got called at a later date, so had to do it, I found it interesting, and quite enjoyed it. Having said that,it was nothing to do with murder or rape, and no children involved, so I suppose it depends on what kind of case you are on, how you view your experience.

[venger]

I have just been called up.

 

Thats all I am saying tho.

[Yodameister]

I did Jury Service about 6 years ago or so.

 

The main case I did was a case of rape and sexual assault.

 

You really do get to see how the underbelly of our society operates and aside from the grisly details it was quite intriguing. I really don't know if we came to the right verdict (it was not guilty) and I had very little sympathy for either the accused or the accuser.

 

But I was pleasantly surprised at how most people on the jury took it very seriously and were really genuinely interested in doing what was right and not jumping to conclusions based on prejudice.

[medusa]

I did 3 weeks a few years ago. One case was that of a 'joyrider' who all jury members felt was guilty, but against whom the prosection evidence was very weak. It was really frustrating to have to find him not guilty purely because the scenes of crime evidence which would have proven his guilt wasn't gathered at the time. We were left with accusations that the prosecution couldn't back up, and so found that there was reasonable doubt and acquitted, only to find his name on the following two weeks' court sheets in relaton to a further 65 counts of car related offences. We all left disillusioned and feeling very much that the whole trial was a charade which cost taxpayers and achieved nothing.

 

I hope that others have more positive experiences of playing a part in the justice system.

 

BTW a good book is a must, and so is a flask- the cost of drinks really mounts up.

[Zebra]

I'm soon to do jury service and although I'm looking forward to it I don't know much of what to expect - other than the obvious.

Any advice?

My Mum, who was also called a few years ago, said take a good book - one with lots and lots of pages due to the waiting around.

What can you tell me?

[Titian]

Yup, there is lots of waiting around. You may get more than one case too, it depends how quick your first one is.

 

I found it really interesting though, if not a little heartbreaking. In one of the cases I was on I didn't agree with some of the other jurors and the defendant was found guilty on a majority. That was quite upsetting for me.

 

But take your mums advice as you may not even get called and spend the week twiddling your thumbs.

[Appolo]

did it a few years back now.missed out on wages because they only paid up to a certain ammount,don't know if it' still the same

 

listen to all the prosecution evidence

listen to all the defence evidence

retire to the jury room

pick a foreman/lady

take a vote on whether the person is innocent or guilty

then discuss the relevant points on either side

keep voting can be open or secret & keep discussing relevant points of law

if you are not sure about the legal pros & cons you can pass a note to the judge for guidance

 

you carry on till you have a verdict guilty or innocent by all the jurors or if you cannot reach a unified verdict the judge might accept a majority verdict

 

you must not discuss anything to anybody about the trial you are the jury for