Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 18th May 2015, 11:58 AM BSTAnd as I was apparently the most outspoken of the jurors when we had our conflab it was a unanimous vote that I would be foreman of the jury, so it was me that had to stand up and "Guilty or Not Guilty". Bit daunting to see the accused look at me from across the court and I hoped he wouldn't remember my face.
That was YOU???? 
Quote: A Horseradish @ 18th May 2015, 7:28 PM BSTI did the one where one jury member says to another member "I've seen you somewhere before". That other person says "I really don't think so" and she says "no, I'm sure, it was in Yorkshire". And then she says "weren't you a social democrat or something many years ago" at which point it gets scary. Finally she says "oddly enough I'm standing to be a Lib Dem councillor soon here in Sutton".
So then the guys who had the shorn off golf clubs arrive and they have allegedly broken in to the home of an old person. They speak all cockney geezer like and deny everything. They go and the respectable middle aged lady starts talking. She explains how she saw what happened and was so mad about it that she drove at 100mph to catch up with them. There was a traffic jam but she found them drinking lager in a park. She is asked to describe them and she goes into loads of convincing detail - haircuts, height, leg measurement - and she especially mentions a mustard coloured shirt.
"Like this one found in the apartment of one of the accused?" she is asked as a mustard shirt is produced. "Exactly" she replies. The Lib Dem says to someone - me I think - "oh this case is very clear cut, they are guilty as sin". Then the blokes come back and the one who had worn the mustard shirt is asked whether it is his shirt. "Yes", he says. So then he is asked to roll up his sleeves as he is wearing an ordinary white shirt and the entire court room gasps. His arms are covered in tattoos. The nice lady never mentioned tattoos at all. Consequently we are advised to find them both not guilty.
So anyhow we leave and the Lib Dem woman and I are the only two going to get a train. We get on the platform and she says "oh my God, look it's them with a big bunch of their mates". I say it hardly matters as we didn't find them guilty and anyhow they won't be in our carriage. The train arrives, we start talking about the election, and all of a sudden the entire bunch pile in. They have found us. They are there to sit on the adjoining seats where they chant in sing songy fashion "We did it and you let us off, we did it and you let us off, hah, hah, hah". That in a nutshell was my experience of jury service. Those who admitted guilt were free if never seen by us again. And she didn't get elected.
Quote: A Horseradish @ 18th May 2015, 7:28 PM BSTI did the one where one jury member says to another member "I've seen you somewhere before". That other person says "I really don't think so" and she says "no, I'm sure, it was in Yorkshire". And then she says "weren't you a social democrat or something many years ago" at which point it gets scary. Finally she says "oddly enough I'm standing to be a Lib Dem councillor soon here in Sutton".
So then the guys who had the shorn off golf clubs arrive and they have allegedly broken in to the home of an old person. They speak all cockney geezer like and deny everything. They go and the respectable middle aged lady starts talking. She explains how she saw what happened and was so mad about it that she drove at 100mph to catch up with them. There was a traffic jam but she found them drinking lager in a park. She is asked to describe them and she goes into loads of convincing detail - haircuts, height, leg measurement - and she especially mentions a mustard coloured shirt.
"Like this one found in the apartment of one of the accused?" she is asked as a mustard shirt is produced. "Exactly" she replies. The Lib Dem says to someone - me I think - "oh this case is very clear cut, they are guilty as sin". Then the blokes come back and the one who had worn the mustard shirt is asked whether it is his shirt. "Yes", he says. So then he is asked to roll up his sleeves as he is wearing an ordinary white shirt and the entire court room gasps. His arms are covered in tattoos. The nice lady never mentioned tattoos at all. Consequently we are advised to find them both not guilty.
So anyhow we leave and the Lib Dem woman and I are the only two going to get a train. We get on the platform and she says "oh my God, look it's them with a big bunch of their mates". I say it hardly matters as we didn't find them guilty and anyhow they won't be in our carriage. The train arrives, we start talking about the election, and all of a sudden the entire bunch pile in. They have found us. They are there to sit on the adjoining seats where they chant in sing songy fashion "We did it and you let us off, we did it and you let us off, hah, hah, hah". That in a nutshell was my experience of jury service. Those who admitted guilt were free if never seen by us again. And she didn't get elected.
My old boss managed to get out of jury duty several years ago.
He just got the MD of the company to write some letter saying that it was impossible for him to be excused or something like that.
Yes but it's a great opportunity. Don't try to get out of it.
Reminds me of the 2 cases I was on which had some comedy potential.
Have done two separate stints. Both times provided enough material for a decent if unbelievable comedy.
Having been chosen for one jury the defendant was brought up from the cells below the court and recognising me shouted across the court "Hello Perry, how are you". Everyone then watched amused as I had to pass a note to the judge asking to be excused and sheepishly exited the courtroom.
Another time we retired to the jury room and after a brief discussion took our first vote on a show of hands with 10 people voting for 'guilty' and 3 people voting for 'not guilty'. It transpired that one of our number did not speak a word of English!
During a particularly long, rambling and incoherently mumbled questioning of a witness by a solicitor the judge interrupted as he felt compelled to remind him and the jury that he was supposed to be defending his client, as this wasn't readily apparent from his line of questioning.
Once deliberating in the Jury room the bailiff is not supposed to 'interfere' with the process. We had one who kept putting her head around the door and enquiring in an ever increasingly irritated fashion what was taking so long. She actually said "this is supposed to be an open and shut case" and later that the judge was "really annoyed at the time we were taking". When we finally decided on a verdict she was ushering us all down the stairs to the courtroom when one of the jurors complained of chest pains and shortness of breath. The bailiff was only concerned with getting us all to the court and insisted the unfortunate man must continue on to the court. Myself and another juror insisted he sit down and refused to leave him until she got him some medical assistance. She was furious but we would not budge. It turned out her attempts to rush us had nothing to do with the Judge, she just had a hair appointment booked.
I remember retiring to one Jury room thinking well this won't take long as the police had not presented any actual evidence linking the defendant with the crime he was charged with. A particularly arrogant man appointed himself as chairman and announced there was no need for a vote as "he's obviously guilty". Amazed, I asked him what he based this on as there was no actual evidence that pointed to this - to which he replied "well you have only got to look at him to see he did it".
All the above are true!
Quote: Chappers @ 25th May 2015, 9:13 PM BSTYes but it's a great opportunity. Don't try to get out of it.
Reminds me of the 2 cases I was on which had some comedy potential.
Twelve Angry Men
Hancock: Does Magna Carta mean nothing to you? Did she die in vain? That brave Hungarian peasant girl who forced King John to sign the pledge at Runnymede and close the boozers at half past ten
Quote: playfull @ 26th May 2015, 1:51 AM BSTHave done two separate stints. Both times provided enough material for a decent if unbelievable comedy.
Having been chosen for one jury the defendant was brought up from the cells below the court and recognising me shouted across the court "Hello Perry, how are you". Everyone then watched amused as I had to pass a note to the judge asking to be excused and sheepishly exited the courtroom.
Another time we retired to the jury room and after a brief discussion took our first vote on a show of hands with 10 people voting for 'guilty' and 3 people voting for 'not guilty'. It transpired that one of our number did not speak a word of English!
During a particularly long, rambling and incoherently mumbled questioning of a witness by a solicitor the judge interrupted as he felt compelled to remind him and the jury that he was supposed to be defending his client, as this wasn't readily apparent from his line of questioning.
Once deliberating in the Jury room the bailiff is not supposed to 'interfere' with the process. We had one who kept putting her head around the door and enquiring in an ever increasingly irritated fashion what was taking so long. She actually said "this is supposed to be an open and shut case" and later that the judge was "really annoyed at the time we were taking". When we finally decided on a verdict she was ushering us all down the stairs to the courtroom when one of the jurors complained of chest pains and shortness of breath. The bailiff was only concerned with getting us all to the court and insisted the unfortunate man must continue on to the court. Myself and another juror insisted he sit down and refused to leave him until she got him some medical assistance. She was furious but we would not budge. It turned out her attempts to rush us had nothing to do with the Judge, she just had a hair appointment booked.
I remember retiring to one Jury room thinking well this won't take long as the police had not presented any actual evidence linking the defendant with the crime he was charged with. A particularly arrogant man appointed himself as chairman and announced there was no need for a vote as "he's obviously guilty". Amazed, I asked him what he based this on as there was no actual evidence that pointed to this - to which he replied "well you have only got to look at him to see he did it".
All the above are true!
Good stuff playfull and the brother of a friend of mine was called Perry although I can't now remember which friend. On your last point, I had a next door neighbour - the one before the infamous member of the boy band - who was a stereotypically hard looking geezer with a voice and manner that fitted it.
Actually he did have a heart of gold side to him but only to those he felt were alright - me for example but only just about and on a good day - plus a certain level of tolerance that I probably don't have. For example, if I was driving a bus and a load of youths threw stones at my window, I wouldn't just turn the bus around but rather throw a few back and then drive like a total nut case away from the situation, ultimately taking both it and all the passengers to Dover and onto a ferry to prove a point.
Anyhow, he had been up before the courts a couple of times and had an issue with being regularly picked on by the police because he looked the way he did. And he once met a guy in a pub who told him he was a judge. So my neighbour asked him if he would reckon he was guilty just on the basis of his appearance and the judge says as quick as a flash "yes absolutely, guilty as sin". Which really tells you all you need to know about those in positions of that sort. They should be bin men (and women).
I managed to defer my appearance until next January.
Quote: playfull @ 26th May 2015, 1:51 AM BSTHave done two separate stints. Both times provided enough material for a decent if unbelievable comedy.
Having been chosen for one jury the defendant was brought up from the cells below the court and recognising me shouted across the court "Hello Perry, how are you". Everyone then watched amused as I had to pass a note to the judge asking to be excused and sheepishly exited the courtroom.
Another time we retired to the jury room and after a brief discussion took our first vote on a show of hands with 10 people voting for 'guilty' and 3 people voting for 'not guilty'. It transpired that one of our number did not speak a word of English!
During a particularly long, rambling and incoherently mumbled questioning of a witness by a solicitor the judge interrupted as he felt compelled to remind him and the jury that he was supposed to be defending his client, as this wasn't readily apparent from his line of questioning.
Once deliberating in the Jury room the bailiff is not supposed to 'interfere' with the process. We had one who kept putting her head around the door and enquiring in an ever increasingly irritated fashion what was taking so long. She actually said "this is supposed to be an open and shut case" and later that the judge was "really annoyed at the time we were taking". When we finally decided on a verdict she was ushering us all down the stairs to the courtroom when one of the jurors complained of chest pains and shortness of breath. The bailiff was only concerned with getting us all to the court and insisted the unfortunate man must continue on to the court. Myself and another juror insisted he sit down and refused to leave him until she got him some medical assistance. She was furious but we would not budge. It turned out her attempts to rush us had nothing to do with the Judge, she just had a hair appointment booked.
I remember retiring to one Jury room thinking well this won't take long as the police had not presented any actual evidence linking the defendant with the crime he was charged with. A particularly arrogant man appointed himself as chairman and announced there was no need for a vote as "he's obviously guilty". Amazed, I asked him what he based this on as there was no actual evidence that pointed to this - to which he replied "well you have only got to look at him to see he did it".
All the above are true!
Is that copyrighted?
Well, I got off jury service - or at least 'excused' as they put it.
It was getting very awkward.....fines, arrest, threats etc.
In a different time I would have probably loved to do it but at this time it was going to cause sooo much turmoil to me and others.
After many emails, I went above the person on the jury summoning board and explained - nay told them that I would not be attending and listed the reasons why.
To my amazement I received this with 2 days to go.
I think it is very rare
