Jury service

[pagan queen]

My 22 year old daughter has had the call to serve on a jury. Has anyone ever done it? She is the first one in the family to be called so we have no idea what it will be like for her.

[Jess222]

Im not sure but I really want to do it!

[pagan queen]

I'd love to do it too Jess but even if I get asked I wont be able to as I am a carer for my son and there is no one else who could look after him.

[RosieB]

I have done jury service and also coroners service.
Jury service is very interesting, what I will say is make sure you are warm, the courts don't do heating I found and froze even in summer! Make sure she dos the relevant paper work or she wont get paid. Don't feel intimidated by the person being charged as they will have a good look at you I found. The judge dos help an awful lot and will guide you in the way he/she feels it should go. Also enjoy, but be prepared to be waiting all day and not be chosen, or worse sent to the next county to sit at a moments notice, you cannot refuse!

[Sheldonsmum]

I've done it twice and loved it! There's a lot of waiting around though!

[emma_mcraf]

I did it when I was 19 and it was very boring. The seats were hard and uncomfortable and there was one day when we didn't break for lunch until 2pm. My tummy rumbles were getting louder by the minute. It was so embarrassing!
My friend found her jury service to be really scary when the defendant (on bail) was catching the same train to and from the court. She felt very uncomfortable about it, even though he didn't approach her.
To be honest I think it all depends on the case your daughter gets. Some are obviously more interesting than others.

[pagan queen]

That sound scary Emma, I think I would have said something to the court. I'd better tell Jodie to take a cushion with her and plenty of strong coffee. She is dreadful at staying awake, seems to spend her out of work time asleep, if it gets boring she'll nod off. She said she's taking her knitting.

[kazzabb]

Hi, I did Jury Service about 12 years ago at the Old Bailey. We had two different murder charges, one each week. The sense of responsibility kept me awake for several nights, as the charges so serious, and the charged so young. Some of my fellow jurors behaved like idiots and a couple should probably have been behind bars themselves (one bragged about being a joy-rider who'd never been nicked, and the other had two 3-bed council flats and rented each room out privately). That said, I found the jury service fascinating and exhausting, some days we were let go very early, so there's a chance to get back to work for the rest of the day if needed. Some jurors take it on themselves to be 'the leader', some don't speak up, some can't be fagged one way or another. Depends on your daughter's attitude to life, and if she's interested in doing her civic duty. It certainly shows another side to life. I'll know what it's like to see a jury in action later this year; my best friend was killed on the road a couple of years ago, and it will go to court this summer. It's confirmed my view that good jurys are very important, not only for the accused, but also for the victims.
Karen

[Mrs Frog]

I did it last year,did two cases,both stupid ones and one embarassing,its an experience and there are some daft people about,I deferred it as I had a new job in Nov but 2 days later I got a letter saying your new date is March and I cannot change it so in the end I wished I had done it earlier

[emma_mcraf]

Mind you that was in Exeter's old courtrooms. They've since got new modern ones, so are probably more comfy. The old one had fold-down chairs like in older cinemas. Bum-numbing after a couple of hours!!

Another friend was in court a couple of years ago as her son was on trial. She found she was on the bus with members of the jury, family and friends of the person her son had hurt and even the court clerk on one occasion. It sounds as if it's quite normal for that kind of thing to happen.
As long as there's no trouble or people approaching one another, I guess the courts can't do anything about people needing to use public transport.