I've been summoned for jury duty! It's a first for me, and I'm not quite sure what to expect. Paperwork suggests we can expect an introductory course of sorts etc, sounds all quite straight forward. How'd it go for you? Acquaintances have dealt with being on short-ish cases (couople of weeks, no more), but due to my situation I perhaps stupidly suggested I'm available for a few months. Bad move?
>>86407 As it's your first time, you'll be put through an induction on the first day. You'll be on for two weeks. When I did it about 15 years ago we were required to hand in our phones, though things may have changed since. Either way, there will usually be something in the holding room to keep you entertained. Sometimes they'll send you home early, and sometimes they'll tell you that you won't be needed the following day (for instance, trials rarely begin on Fridays). For any given case, they'll typically call around 20 of you up for selection, at which point they'll pick out 12 names, and if you get pulled out and don't know anyone involved you'll be seated. You may be called for a case, and brought up to the court, only to be told that you won't be needed after all because the accused has changed their plea to guilty on the day. For a "short" case, everything typically wraps up in three days, and then you get sent out for deliberation. At the conclusion of your case, you may find yourself excused for the rest of the two-week period.
While you're on a case you must not discuss it outside the court, and you must not ever discuss specific details of anything that happens within the jury room on that case.
>While you're on a case you must not discuss it outside the court, and you must not ever discuss specific details of anything that happens within the jury room on that case.
Though it goes without saying you can tell us and we'll not grass you up.
>>86415 If you don't get any cases, the waiting around doing nothing is boring. And there is a fair bit of sitting in waiting rooms while the lawyers do their stuff. But in the two weeks I did it, I saw three cases and sat every day.
The court/deliberation bit was fascinating (and frightening!) - you see how random justice is when you get in the jury room, and what you're dealing with when 12 random people listen to the same evidence.
