Jury Service in September

Don't worry too much about it

Just inform them of your circumstances and health worries

I'm sure you won't be the only one not keen to do it at the moment!

You can be " excused " from attending if you let the court know of your concern/worry.

Linnana, I am sure that being a court that all the social distancing rules etc will be rigorously applied.

A few years back I was called to jury service and over the course of three weeks we made judgments on three cases.

I found it very interesting and met some great people who were also on the Jury over lunches etc.

i found it amusing ,the lies that people tell.... wear your mask /sanitise .etc dont forget the court will have to follow distancing rules .so you wont be sat squashed up to your neighbour .also you might be exempt because of health problems.its not as bad as you think...

I thought there was a cut off age of 70 too
I m so thankful I ve never been served it’s not something I would want on my conscience or could imagine doing especially if you were locked in on a stalemate decision

I m sure if you did want to do it it will be as safe as houses

Do stop being afraid to go out you are least likely to pick anything up outside and it is so much better for your mental health to get out and about I m older than you but never stayed in I ve done everything as advised and followed social distancing to the T but I know for my mental health I needed to be out and about

Linnana you can defer jury service, but once and once only. You need to explain why you need to defer and provide evidence, eg. a letter from your GP or consultant. You do, however, also need to list when, in the next 12 months, you will be available for jury service. I hope this helps a little.

I was called up last month for two weeks to a court which meant a train, bus and tube ride. I have been careful so was very concerned because I knew I would not go. In the end I completed the form saying I am over 70, live miles away, have been very careful and can’t do it. I also said I had done jury service years ago. I got a letter back excusing me from service.
Strange that most of my friends etc have never done jury service and I was being asked to it it a second time, in the midst of a pandemic. I don’t think so!
Write to them Linnana, I was worrying unnecessarily, they won’t make you.
Good luck.

Suggest you don’t complete the part of the form asking for when you can do it. I just filled in the comments box and said why I can’t. I did not provide medical or other evidence I just explained circumstances. Don’t worry.

As a matter of interest I did a bit of research and courts are not clean places, they are dirty and crowded with all manner of people milling around waiting, and the jury retiring room is often a small windowless room where you could be stuck inside with 12 others for hours at a time.

Absolutely, write to them, the waiting rooms are often crammed with other Jurors, depending on how many Courts are in the building, plus spares, I’m sure they will excuse you.

I’ve done it twice and despite everything I really enjoyed it.

Seeing how the Law works is very interesting and very different from the telly.

You can request to have your jury duty postponed but you cannot have it cancelled completely. It does mean you wouldn’t be called to go until next March.

So out of interest what would happen if you refused (outside health reasons) would they send you to jail

There’s a fine of £1000.

Apparently 85% of barristers are refusing to return to courts due to concerns about cleanliness. That says it all.

Thank you for all your advice. I did ring the Jury Service helpline today and was told that being over 70, in the current circumstances, I can ask for it to be deferred for one year. So will be doing that on line and can heave a sigh of relief for 12 months!

Glad you have sorted that out Linnana. I know I lost sleep about it.

Thank you.