Jury Service – A User Guide

The Summons: 

The first stage is that a summons is sent by the Jury Central Summoning Bureau. This is in the form of a letter sent through the post to an individual’s home address. The letter will include important information, such as, when and where jury service will take place. Individuals are legally bound to respond to the summons and must attend court as directed. There are limited reasons for which an individual may be able to defer their obligation. An even more restrictive approach is taken when excusing individuals from service all together.

Reasons to be Excused or to Defer Service: 

While jury duty is mandatory, it is possible to be excused with good reason. There does not exist an absolute list of reasons however, those which are justified may include: undergoing surgery, recently having served on a jury, being in between employment, having a pre-booked holiday or having recently stood trial yourself. A principal rule is that those over 75 years old, can request to be excused. It is only possible to defer service once, for a maximum of 12 months. However, the listed reasons do not automatically result in a deferral or exemption. It is important to let the court know as soon as possible. They will likely require proof of the circumstances and individuals may be required to provide their availability after the 12-month deferral period.

Jury Service and Employment:

Employers are required by law to grant time off for jury service. Individuals should ensure that they notify their employer in good time. Should an individual’s pay be affected by attending jury service, it is possible to claim a contribution from the government to recover a proportion of losses. For the first 10 days, a maximum of £64.95 per day may be claimed for loss of earnings and any childcare outside of usual arrangements. In addition, £5.71 can be claimed for food and drink, plus the cost of travel to and from court. For longer trials, the rate for loss of earning increases to £129.91.

At Court:

After registration at court, the role of a juror will be explained. Those required to sit on a jury after this point, will be called into a courtroom with 13 fellow jurors. The names of the key parties and locations in the case will be read aloud and individuals must declare if they have any connection to the case. If so, both barristers will make representations to the judge, who will decide whether it would be appropriate for the individual to sit on the jury. Usually, the strength of the connection to the case will be assessed as the principal deciding factor.  Once this has been dealt with, a total of 12 jurors will be “sworn in” to the trial. This will be done by each juror taking an oath or affirmation. Jurors will read aloud to the court the following: “I swear by Almighty God [or I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm] that I will faithfully try the defendant and give a true verdict according to the evidence”. This marks the start of a Crown court trial. Jurors must then sit in court for the duration of the trial and ultimately reach either a “guilty” or “not guilty” verdict.

The Trial: 

The judge explains the role to the jury, in a clear and concise manner. Jurors must listen to the facts and evidence presented to them by both the prosecution and the defence barrister, remaining impartial throughout the trial. An important rule is that jurors are not permitted to discuss the case outside of the court whilst the trial is ongoing. This means that jurors cannot go home and discuss the case with friends or family, and no posting on social media. Jurors are not permitted to discuss the case amongst themselves, unless all 12 jurors are present in the deliberation room. Ignoring these rules would lead to contempt of court and individuals could face criminal prosecution.

Deliberation: 

This is where jurors retire to discuss the facts of the case, aiming to reach a verdict of either “guilty” or “not guilty”. Jurors will be taken to a separate room and are given unrestricted time to reach their verdict. This could take several hours, it could take several days and in some rare cases, even months. It all depends on how long it takes for all jurors to reach a unanimous decision (if they can at all).

The Verdict:

Once a verdict has been reached, the jury will be asked to elect a ‘foreperson’. This person will be required to stand up in court before the judge and deliver the jury’s decision. The judge will ask the foreperson ‘how do you find the defendant?’ and the foreperson will respond either ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’. If a unanimous decision cannot be reached by all 12 jurors, this could lead to what is known as a ‘hung jury’. In this instance, it is possible that the defendant will have to undergo a full re-trial.

Conclusion:

This is a very brief overview of jury service in the UK. However, it should go some way in explaining this important process, for those called upon to participate in our criminal justice system. Jury service can be an incredibly interesting and rewarding change of pace to daily life. However, the responsibility it begs should not be dismissed!