Jury Service

[notb665]

I've noticed that there a lot of people on here who either run their own business or are self-employed.

Guess what - I've been selected for jury service and I am self-employed. Yeah they give you expenses but it in no way covers what I would earn, and I need to pay the bills!

Anyone else had any experience of this?

 

[empip]

Ring them and explain why you feel you should be excused, you may be lucky.
I have been on service several times and it was quite sad to see people with businesses unable to escape, asking to be excused in court, ( several weeks in one case, on duty. )
I luckily 'made' on the deal .. Court's loss of wages payment made up to full pay from employer .... The expenses were on top.

If no escape .. and actually on a case ( not mere reserve ) .. Refrain from any real liquid at lunch, you'll be hard put to stay awake .. Once the novelty has worn off.

You know how it appears to work? If tis a 'gangster' type case you will be relieved to hear your name read out as a prospective juror in court, at least once .. all eyes seem to bore into your soul.... oooer!
Then if chosen, end of day you may be leaving the nearby multi storey car park, finding yourself in a traffic queue with the defendants buddies surrounding your car as they await a lift ... Felt like pasting a piece of paper on windscreen 'Not guilty' .. Yep, they recognised me, nudges and winks... Was I glad to get moving.

Park well away from the courts !!
Good luck ..

England Expects That Every Man Will Do His Duty

Yeah right !!
Worth a glance .. perhaps.
http://www.cjsonline.gov.uk/juror/walkthrough/summoning/faqs/

 

[WoodYouLike]

Ring them and explain why you feel you should be excused, you may be lucky.

You can fill that in in the form they send you. Beginning this year my husband received letter and forms for jury service. We requested to be excused (you can't keep doing that forever, but what are the chances of getting selected again in any near future?) and that was that.

 

[oilman]

You will have to do it sooner or later, they allow you one postponement, but next time they offer you a few weeks paid-for accomodation in a compulsory residential centre.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It is very hard on the self-employed, particularly if you get stuck on a long running case.

Is there no insurance that you can take out against it?

If you can get it postponed until the summer, you at least have the possibility of still working a bit, as court finishes half-way through the afternoon.

On the whole though I wouldn't want to see the jury system go, and it is important that juries are made up from a representative cross-section of society, not just middle aged housewives, pensioners and the unemployed.

It's also an excellent crime prevention scheme. If I had ever harboured ideas about doing anything in the slightest bit dodgy, the thought that I might end up with my freedom depending on the bunch of mad half-witted misfits that made up a good 75% of the juries I was on would frighten me stiff....

 

[AdamW]

It would seem this is one of the indirect costs of crime.

When the jury system was first devised, a juror had to be someone who knew the accused very well! Totally the opposite to now.

Would you actually be allowed to carry on with your dayjob whilst doing jury duty? Was wondering if there is some stipulation to keep your mind on the task in hand.

It could also be pretty hard on those employed by a company. If I were called up for jury duty right at any time in the next few months it could harm my career, as I would have to give my job to someone else, thus losing any brownie points I might have earned. It is an intangible loss, but a loss nonetheless.

 

[oilman]

I understand, maybe wrongly, that if the trial is likely to be a long one, potential jurers are asked if it will cause them problems.

 

[JohnD]

I've been a juror a couple of times, not a prob as I was the salaried staff, have subsequently been in business on my own so would be a worry.

But:
1) It's usually a couple of weeks, no worse for the business than being on holiday, and the hours are short so you can catch up on your invoicing and home visits in the evening. there's also a fair bit of sitting around waiting so you can take some papers in with you.

2) The clerks understand the probs to a self-employed person, and can tilt you towards a short case unless you're stupid enough toi antagonise them.

3) If the judge spots you're not paying attention, are asleep, or late back from lunch, he can fine you any amount he feels like.

 

[joe-90]

Tell them you don't believe there is smoke without fire and as such you will find any defendant guilty. You can't help it - it's just the way you are and they'll cross you off the list.



joe

 

[notb665]

Thanks for the comments - I actually have some pupils entering exams around the time they have asked me to do, so I will see if I can be excused.

I think it would be interesting to do, but yet again this is another price of being self-employed.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Tell them you don't believe there is smoke without fire and as such you will find any defendant guilty.

One of the people on the jury I was on thought the police were wonderful and as far as she was concerned they wouldn't have charged the guy if he hadn't done it.

 

[petewood]

Thanks for the comments - I actually have some pupils entering exams around the time they have asked me to do, so I will see if I can be excused.

I think it would be interesting to do, but yet again this is another price of being self-employed.

can i just say that it was totally unpremeditated and also that it is a case of mistaken identity?

 

[oilman]

Thanks for the comments - I actually have some pupils entering exams around the time they have asked me to do, so I will see if I can be excused.

I think it would be interesting to do, but yet again this is another price of being self-employed.

It is very likely you will be excused, but not forgotten. They will send you another call-up in the not too distant future, and there will be little chance of getting out of it then.