jury service....

[worried parent]

hi folks , i have just recieved a letter calling me up for jury service ., i was just wondering because of the situation i have recently been through regarding the false allegation against my son , if i get picked to sit on a rape case should i tell an official ? because i dont think i would look at the evidence impartialy , ive been sort of hardened now and think i would look at it from the same side that ive been on . i know all cases are different but having seen on this site how many false allegations there are im not sure if i would believe any woman now unless it was cast iron . any advice please would be welcome .

[RFLH]

Have a look at http://www.courtroomadvice.co.uk/why...y-service.html

If you're like the rest of us and have been to the G's as a gibbering wreck - you may be able to claim this as a reason as why you can't/don't want to serve.

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/i...s_excusals.htm

[LS]

Alternatively, you could be the one person capable of looking at the evidence with the intelligence it deserves.
There have been cases where the evidence has so many holes in it you could drive a truck through, yet the jury found guilty. You might be the one person to stop this happening.

[Rights Fighter]

I'm just waiting for the call very eagerly...... but then I doubt they would call me as I know the police have "intelligence" on me due to the work I do.

[LS]

That's just it... if you're a right-minded person they'll never call you.

[Rights Fighter]

They probably think I would come down on the side of the defendant no matter what. I would not do that; I would go on the evidence. But they don't know that as I think they would assume I am the same as them - in it for my own ends.

[LS]

They think everyone who has been on the wrong side of the box would go for the defendant regardless, which is a pretty ignorant idea to have. It's just as well we don't all think all coppers are bent and open to bungs.

In fact, many of us would be ideal jurors because we've seen first hand the immoral, unjust practises that are passed off in court as being "the truth."

Someone who is caught out lying, fabricating evidence and committing perjury while trying to convince me that the defendant is guilty, would NOT get the verdict they wanted.

Hey ho, but it's not really about the honest verdict, is it? That's why I'm miffed that I'm excluded from jury service now.

[Saffron]

I would LOVE to be picked for jury service! I know 3 people who have done it, and all of them said they were astonished and disgusted at the bigoted opinions and lack of due consideration by other jurors. I suspect it is unlikely I will be chosen though....I am sure that a quick search would flag up that I am the wife of a convicted sex offender.

[RFLH]

snap - even though I'm not now!

[friday]

given i have nightmares about court i don't think i could actually face going to court again, even to just sit on a jury. not that it matters, i can't sit on a jury cos of my mental health condition (which only makes me frustrated because if nobody with mental health problems can sit on a jury then when the barristers says "s/he's mad" i suspect the majority, if not all, of the jury accepts it as fact).

the court i was in may have just been having a weird time (but twice...?) cos 75% were rape cases (i peeked at the board ) and most were pretty horrible (as if it isn't always) with GBH and ABH on most. i'm pretty sure the caustic soda rape trial was on while i was there the second time round. not saying thats common but i think it pretty likely you could be asked to sit on a jury in a rape case.

if you want to do it because you may be the only person with a brain on the jury then of course do but you need to protect yourself first. if you think it will be too traumatic then i am sure you can get out of it because you really have a valid reason. a trip to the gp (if you haven't been already) should solve that.

[Rights Fighter]

the court i was in may have just been having a weird time (but twice...?) cos 75% were rape cases (i peeked at the board ) and most were pretty horrible (as if it isn't always) with GBH and ABH on most.

How very odd. I can't remember the amount of trials I have been to but not once did I see what the defendants were being tried for. I would have thought that would be a recipe for disaster. Can you imagine vigilantes roaming our Crown courts looking for rape and child abuse cases?

Unless you are talking about another board? What am I missing?

[friday]

not the screen with the defendants name and court number. it was the board in the office in the prosecution witness area. i am a smoker and obviously couldn't smoke inside so someone had to take me out to smoke meaning i had to go to the office a fair few times and i peeked (i know i shouldn't have but i am nosy...)

given that only 5% of crimes are tried at crown court i would hazard a guess that its possible a person will sit on a jury for murder, rape, armed robbery or serious assault. i doubt many drugs cases end up in crown court unless its trafficking (i only know of one person who was tried at crown court for drugs charges and they were just silly cos if they pleaded guilty at magistrates they would have got a far shorter sentence).

[Rights Fighter]

Ok. Unfortunately the Crown courts I've been in - all the witnesses end up in the same waiting area - not a good idea! I wish all courts provided separate areas for either side. It would save a lot of hassle and nasty looks/bad feelings.

[friday]

thats awful. if i or my (now ex) boyfriend had seen him i wouldn't have been able to go through with it and i think my boyfriend would have had to go down and stand trial for murder!

supposedly they are meant to have separate areas as far as is possible but obviously that isn't happening everywhere which is disgusting. in the court i was in we used different entrances and exits, they told me when he had left so i could wait a while before leaving, i used the judges lifts and corridors so there was no way i would see him. in that sense the courts were excellent. pity the jury weren't so smart.

http://www.cps.gov.uk/victims_witnes..._evidence.html

[Rights Fighter]

The Courts Service has a legal requirement to make sure you have a separate waiting area and seat in the courtroom away from the defendant's family, where possible.

I went to a trial in July last year and the accuser and family/friends were sat right by us. It was really scary as whenever anybody from the other camp went to the loo, or outside for a cigarette, two police officers had to follow them to make sure there was no hassle. The brother of one was ordered by the judge not to come into court for two days until he had calmed down.