Jury Duty!?

Question

Ive been called to do jury duty starting from monday. I dont think there is anyway i can get out of it. How long will I be there and what can I expect to happen?

Answer 1

I was only at mine 3 days. I thought it was quite a novel experience and thought I learnt a fair bit from it. It's nothing to worry about, relax and enjoy it.

Answer 2

When I did Jury Service in England several years ago, normal service is 2 weeks, unless you are already part of a Jury for a trial, in which case you will be on the Jury until a verdict has been agreed.

In my experience I was only there for a week then was contacted by the Court Service to say there were not enough trials so did not need to attend.

What can you expect:
On your first day, you will be shown around the courts and shown where you will be sitting as jurors. You may be shown a video of what the procedures are (i.e. reading of an oath) You will then be taken to the juror waiting room, where there will be a large group of people on Jury Service.

You wait until your name is called up (this is random and not pre determined). You might want to take a book (don't take an iPod, as you will not hear your name called out)

If your name is called, the clerk will take you to the court with 14 others.

In court will be the judge, the defendant, and prosecuting and defending barristers and their assistants and other court officers. There may also be people in the public gallery.

Once in court, another court officer will call out 12 names at random which you say yes if your name is called. You will then walk to the jurors benches. If your name is not called, you will be sent back to the juror waiting room.

As a juror, you will be asked to take an oath, then you will remain seated and listen to the facts that the barristers will tell you. First from the prosecution barrister (sitting furthest away from you) then from the defence barrister (sitting closest to you) You will also hear from various witnesses (not necessarily eye witnesses, but sometimes expert witnesses and police officers)

At various times you may be asked to leave the court while barristers assess a point of law. A clerk will take you to and from the court at this point, to the juror debating chamber.

After the facts have been presented to you, you will then hear the closing statements from each barrister. After which you will then be briefed by the judge and sent to the juror debating chamber, where you and your 11 colleagues come to a decision for if the defendant is guilty or not guilty.

You will also need to discuss who is to be foreman, who reads out the verdict in court when asked. You will not be asked to make a sentence, as this is based on judicial precedent.

Overall, I found the experience to be fascinating and will gladly take part again if asked.

I hope that this helps.



P.S Perhaps you could extend your information to say which country you are from?

Answer 3

You may be there just for vVoir Dire. ["Voir Dire is the process by which [U.S.] attorneys select, or perhaps more appropriately reject, certain jurors to hear a case."] I have been called twice for jury duty and was excused both times after a morning of being in the courthouse for Voir Dire.

If you are selected to serve on a jury, the length of time of service depends on the trial. Some trials will last a day or two, and some can last weeks.

Answer 4

It depends on where you live. Didn't they send you something, telling you what to expect? I've had jury duty twice in different counties. The experiences were very different. For one of them, I didn't have to go at all! We were to call the night before each day of duty to see if we had to come in. I never did. For the other one, I had to go every day and the length of time varied. If you get sent to selection, you'll know how to stay off the panel.

Answer 5

i done it a few years ago first of all you sit with probably 80 other jurors,depending on how many they need which is picked randomly,f you are not chosen for jury duty you will be sent home after about 2 hrs obviously if you are chosen you have to stay for the duration ,then the same happens the following day and dont be late as they will do you for contempt of court

Answer 6

It is a duty of all citizens on the electoral register with very few exceptions to be available for jury service.
I don't want to do it is just as bad as saying the punishment isn't enough or, why wasn't that person found guilty.
Do the duty or else do not moan about our legal system.

Answer 7

There is no way you can get out of it unless there are exceptional circumstances. The length of jury duty will depend on the length of the trial obviously.

Answer 8

Depends on the case, and if you actually get selected to serve or not.
It's actually pretty interesting to serve on a jury. I did it this year and really learned alot about our criminal justice system. I wouldn't mind doing it again sometime.

Answer 9

Of course you can't "get out of it". It's your DUTY. If you were on trial, you'd want to be judged by 12 ordinary people wouldn't you? Well that's what you're being told - not asked - to do, for someone else.
You will spend a lot of time sitting around, you might get called to be on a jury, you might not. Then keep your wits about you, listen carefully to all the evidence and decide whether the person is guilty or not.
I can't believe this place sometimes.

Answer 10

No way to get out of it, it is really dependant on what case you will have to hear, to the length of time you will have to serve. If you are lucky you might not even be chosen to be on one of the cases...