www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-15466689
There seems to more trials where the jury seems to be not up to standard.
If I had to stand trial I would be concerned about the 12 deciding on my future especially with thickos acting like in the above case.
What alternatives are there?
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If you have ever served on a jury you would be even more concerned. I wouldn't have let half of the jury I served on decide what they wanted for dinner let alone the guilt or otherwise of the defendant.
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Fair comment but there is a complete generation who apparently cannot be out of touch with the rest of the world for 5 minutes and one has to wonder what sort of a briefing the jurors were given. I think that the idea that "guilty" in a text message related to the eating of a cooked breakfast is very far fetched indeed. I was abroad for over 20 years, on and off, but in the whole time I was available I was never once called for jury service. No loss some might say!
Last edited by: Meldrew on Wed 26 Oct 11 at 17:58
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I was on a jury. I can't believe that half of them couldn't find the bloke not guilty, and there had to be a re-trial.
The judge really gave us a bashing.
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 26 Oct 11 at 18:03
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My wife was called for jury service when she was very pregnant so was excused and not asked since. I have never been called.
I did go to the open day at Kingston Crown Court so been in the cells and the van etc.
The mock trial was interesting. Lots of kids attended so I hope it had a deterrent value.
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I was asked when doing post grad research and explained I'd not get the time back etc and would impact studies. I have not been asked again since though.
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I've done jury service - the most boring two weeks of my life.
I finally got to sit on a trial and because I pointed out an obvious fact the other eleven hadn't picked up, I was elected foreman. A trivial case that should never have come to court.
I was only glad I didn't get involved in some of the more harrowing cases that were running.
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On a jury with a few under 30s on it, you be hard pressed not to have some texting, tweeting and facebooking.
Virtually every verdict risks being thrown out unless mobile phones have to be given up before entering the jury box. Shirley 'they' must have started doing that now?
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Mobile phones are taken from the jury before they retire to their room to consider their verdict, although there is no strip search, so it's taken on trust.
Jurors are told - as are all court users - to turn their phones off before they enter the jury box.
Jury boxes in most courts are elevated, so I am surprised the juror in this case wasn't seen at the time.
Equally, the public gallery is also in plain sight, anyone tinkering with a phone would probably be spotted and warned to stop doing so.
Jurors are given several warnings by the judge before the trial commences.
They are told to tell a member of court staff if anything happens among their number with which they are not comfortable, or think is not right.
Some judges give an example, such as the juror who took out a Ouija board in the jury room.
Another example of the warning working is two jurors who were playing noughts and crosses during a trial.
Another juror, quite rightly, brought that to the attention of the court.
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>> Some judges give an example, such as the juror who took out a Ouija board
>> in the jury room.
Blimey that was a few years ago. Was it in court or, back in the days when jurors were warehoused in hotels, during a drink sodden evening?
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...Was it in court...
In the jury room of a court at the Old Bailey while they were considering their verdict.
I wondered how he got a 'board' in there, but I believe some are made of fabric, so it was probably folded in his pocket.
Another example of juror stupidity was a woman who became infatuated with a QC in the trial of Ian Huntley's girlfriend Maxine Carr.
The juror sent the silk a message entitled 'summons to attend' - it was her way of asking him for a lunch date.
The silk, needless to say, called a halt to the public proceedings and told the judge in his chambers.
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I was still at school when called up for jury service. Turned up at the court but the trial got cancelled or something.
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Called in mid eighties but was barred at time as my job was in the Courts. Since then the rules have been changed and I've moved to a different department but not been picked again - so far.
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My sister works in a job which means she knows all the details of certain types of criminals in Manchester. She got called for Jury service but was allowed to sit on one case, the others were all related to her job, so there is a chance she would know them and know their criminal records so she wasn't called up for most.
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SWM was caught about 10 years back. One case was such a complex financial affair that none of the jurors could understand it.
They tried to get me in '03 but I had a continental biking trip booked in 10 days. I told them this and detailed my various health problems and they let me off. I can fall asleep on a dining room chair watching the news so I'm sure a stuffy courtroom would have had me snoring !
7 days bird for contempt...take him down ( wake him up first ) !
Ted
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It's been said that the way to ensure rejection by the defence is to turn up wearing a blazer, regimental tie, and carrying the Daily Telegraph.
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>> It's been said that the way to ensure rejection by the defence is to turn
>> up wearing a blazer, regimental tie, and carrying the Daily Telegraph.
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That's why I've never been called... thanks! :-)
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Right of peremptory challenge of jury members by defence was abolished in 1988 so you may yet serve madf!
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Well if thy don't hurry up, I may be senile... if not already ..:-)
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The defence - or prosecution - has no right to challenge a juror.
What sometimes happens is the judge asks a question to ensure impartiality.
If the case involved a punch-up at, say, a cricket club dinner, the judge might ask if any juror is a member of the club.
Alternatively, the judge might read a list of witnesses and ask the jury to say if they know any of the names.
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Another juror story springs to mind.
During a trial we all became aware of someone crying.
The evidence was in no way harrowing, so for a few seconds we were all looking at each other to see who it was.
It was a female juror, who blurted out something like: "I can't do this, I live in the village and my husband's an electrician."
The judge was not impressed.
He said: "For goodness sake, we're trying a man involved in a punch-up, not a terrorist."
The judge went on to give her a brief lecture about public duty.
Predictably, this failed to calm the situation.
After a brief steward's inquiry with counsel, the judge excused the juror and pressed ahead with a panel of 11, which is allowed if a juror becomes too upset or too ill to carry on.
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Surely this means that anyone who doesn't feel like serving on a jury can get off it in this way. Or by claiming prejudice etc.
I'd hate to be on a jury but it's meant to be a duty, isn't it? Not just something we can choose to do or not do?
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>> Surely this means that anyone who doesn't feel like serving on a jury can get
>> off it in this way. Or by claiming prejudice etc.
Yes. But if you were in the dock would you want the sort of person who would do that on the jury? I'd rather have the ones who regard it as an obligation to be taken seriously.
In theory anyway. In practice I'd be terrified given my experience that roughly half the people I meet seem to have the reasoning ability of a pickled beetroot.
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only half? I'd put the figure a LOT lower but I agree with your point
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>> Jurors are told - as are all court users - to turn their phones off
>> before they enter the jury box.
Do you use 'twitter or any other live text based communication' in the course of reporting from court? (following the Lord Chief's guidnace issued last year?)
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...Do you use 'twitter or any other live text based communication' in the course of reporting from court? (following the Lord Chief's guidnace issued last year?)...
No, although I've seen others doing it.
When I first got a netbook about three years ago, I got permission from the resident judge at Durham Crown Court to use it on the press bench, on the strict understanding then it was not connected.
It's sometimes handy for me to bash out a few pars about one case while I'm waiting for the next one, or during a break in proceedings.
The few pars are then ready to send when I leave the bench at lunchtime.
Durham is an old-fashioned theatre court, it's enormous, but the press bench is right next to the judge and also doubles as the witness stand.
Banging away on a laptop while a witness is giving evidence or the judge is speaking is distracting, and shows a lack of respect and understanding of the court process, so we hacks tend not to do it.
The problem barely exists in the modern courts because the press bench is at the back of the court.
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Interesting that Pugly's not added anything to this thread.
Professional standards?
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Qualities required for jury members. - CGNorwich
