Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.
Options

Jury Service

ElthamaddickElthamaddick
edited December 2009 in Not Sports Related
Last day in the office before 2 weeks Jury Service at Belmarsh. Anyone ever done it there?, is it gonna be as boring as it sounds?

Seeing as the courts take a 2 week break over the christmas period, I've been led to believe there's not to much chance of any action in the 2nd week!.
«1

Comments

  • Options
    PlaaayerPlaaayer
    Woman I work with starts jury service at Belmarsh on Monday.
  • Options
    KetmanKetman
    Fingers crossed that you get a decent case. More than likely you'll spend most of the two weeks reading a book or a paper waiting to get picked.
  • Options
    F-BlockerF-Blocker
    My wife got called to Belmarsh about a year ago.
    She went for the first 3 days, didn't get called & then was dismissed and told to go back to work!
  • Options
    ValleyGaryValleyGary
    I did mine this time last year. Wasnt too bad really. Got on a couple of cases. There is quite abit of sitting around, so take your book or PSP!...if the people your with are nice it makes it alot better. Our little group went over the road for lunch. Theres a really tasty carvery there!...Parking is a nightmare, so get there early if your driving. If not then leave yourself 15-20 mins to walk from the train station!
  • Options
    stonemusestonemuse
    Been there 3 or 4 years back ... yes, it is a bore, but easy to get home and not every day is a full day.

    The previous jury service I did was up by London Bridge which was more of a pain.
  • Options
    ElthamaddickElthamaddick
    [cite]Posted By: Plaaayer[/cite]Woman I work with starts jury service at Belmarsh on Monday.

    eye candy ?
  • Options
    PlaaayerPlaaayer
    Fraid not!
  • Options
    BlackForestRedsBlackForestReds
    I gave evidence at Belmarsh a few years ago...but I've never done Jury Service.
  • Options
    addick1965addick1965
    Yeah,i did Belmarsh about 5 years ago it was pretty boring although on the last day of the second case i was on the accused got on the same bus as me..i had to do a double take but it was him alright :)
  • Options
    guinnessaddickguinnessaddick
    Never been called up for jury service.
  • Sponsored links:


  • Options
    StewartStewart
    I was there for two weeks end of February start of March this year and enjoyed every minute of it. I can see why people don't enjoy it though. I guess it helped that I had 3 cases to do over that time and met a lot of interesting people as well.

    A little tip... Don't eat the food they serve. Its muck. Bring in your own sandwiches, or do what I did and pop over the road to Domino Pizza and get the 7 inch Pizza with 2 toppings deal for £2. :)
  • Options
    kigeliakigelia
    [cite]Posted By: addick1965[/cite]Yeah,i did Belmarsh about 5 years ago it was pretty boring although on the last day of the second case i was on the accused got on the same bus as me..i had to do a double take but it was him alright :)

    I had similar the one time i did jury service about 6 years ago in Maidstone. case itself was nothing particularly interesting. However the go on trial (accompanied by his mum) used to get the same train home as me each day of the case. was a bit strange both of us consiously trying to ignore each other
  • Options
    cafcdan18cafcdan18
    Before you go watch the episode of Peep Show where Jeremy does Jury Service. (Series 3 episode 5) it is hilarious!
  • Options
    BlackForestRedsBlackForestReds
    When I went to Belmarsh I shared a taxi with the solicitor of the people he was defending. We both got off at the same train stop - Woolwich I think, and he asked me if I knew where Belmarsh was, - what a coincidence I'm going there I said, so we shared a taxi. He'd come down from Burnley to represent the thugs who smashed up the H&G - I sussed out pretty quickly that we'd be seeing each other later on so I kept schtumm about why I was going there.
  • Options
    OhsouthLondonOhsouthLondon
    edited December 2009
    Did jury service a month or so ago at Southwark.

    The sitting around is boring, but when you get into the case its rather interesting!

    Make sure you bring your own lunch for the deliberation day though because you are put in the room and not allowed out for lunch, they have to bring it up for you!
    And if the food at Southwark is similar to Belmarsh then you might want to avoid it if you can!

    Also be aware that you could get stuck on a longer case then the 2 weeks they estimate!
    There was an 8 week case i heard of, And unless you have a vaild reason like a Holiday, or Operation etc.. you arent allowed to get out of it!

    One last thing, when giving the verdict it can be a bit tedious, as all eyes are on the jury but if you anticipate that it should'nt be as nerve-racking.
    So just a heads up!
  • Options
    SE9SE9
    Had a trial before and the judge said that no one who supported Charlton or Palace were allowed to be part of the jury. As you can imagine loads were saying they were one team or the other to get out of it. Funnist bit was when an african fella said that he couldnt be part of the jury as he supported Arsenal and prob thought that would get him out of it.
  • Options
    paulbaconsarniepaulbaconsarnie
    been called 3 times. done it twice, both at southwark.
    didn't mind it at all. 2 weeks is about right though.
  • Options
    LargeAddickLargeAddick
    just been called for Belmarsh from 25th January. Done Southwark before about seven years ago.
  • Options
    PlaaayerPlaaayer
    Another woman I work with has just finished at 8 month long case at Belmarsh.

    I think your more likely to be on a longer case being at Belmarsh? May be wrong though.
  • Options
    March51March51
    Also listen to the Tony Hancock episode when he's the jury foreman and (thanks to Sid) ends up getting 5 years. "Magna Carta, did she die in vain?".
  • Sponsored links:


  • Options
    ValleyGaryValleyGary
    [cite]Posted By: Plaaayer[/cite]Another woman I work with has just finished at 8 month long case at Belmarsh.

    I think your more likely to be on a longer case being at Belmarsh? May be wrong though.

    THats what i thought when i got called to belmarsh, but had two small cases. One with a bloke getting bullied on the top of the 96 bus, and three kids having a scrap in Eltham!!
    I thought i was gonna get a bank robbery or a murder. I suppose as long as you dont get a kiddie fiddler case it doesnt matter.
  • Options
    charltonkestoncharltonkeston
    If they get as far as a trial you can only give one verdict, guilty.
  • Options
    LargeAddickLargeAddick
    remind me, if I ever get up before the beak, never to have you on my jury !!
  • Options
    Vinnie V.Vinnie V.
    Did it at Maidstone Crown about 8 years ago. I spent most of my time sitting waiting to go into court and all of my time in court trying not to fall asleep.
  • Options
    ChizzChizz
    [cite]Posted By: charltonkeston[/cite]If they get as far as a trial you can only give one verdict, guilty.
    ???
  • Options
    March51March51
    edited December 2009
    My wife was on it recently and spent four days hearing a case before one of the other jurors mentioned he knew the bloke on trial quite well, so that was that! Spent the rest of the fortnight sitting about.
  • Options
    IAIA
    [cite]Posted By: charltonkeston[/cite]If they get as far as a trial you can only give one verdict, guilty.

    I've never been on jury, but I imagine this is exactly what you should say if you don't want to sit through a trial.
  • Options
    superclivesuperclive
    My mate was on the imran khan ian botham trial years ago. I did southwark about 4 years back I had a burglary and a guy with a bag of weed in his car!
  • Options
    carlingaddickcarlingaddick
    i work in the legal world doing litigation & trial support & have been there a fair few times....
    Its abit of a grim place imo... & i agree the food should be avoided..
    obviously Belmarsh gets a lot of mention in the press these days due to the sort of people held there...
    As Plaaaayer said, the cases nowadays tend to be longer than the average & theres a fair possibility that you could end up on a very interesting/long/public trial..
  • Options
    MiserableoldgitMiserableoldgit
    Done Southwark 12 years ago and London Bridge 2 years ago.
    Quite enjoyed it really, just remember to take a book as you could be sitting around for along time.
    And try and avoid sitting in the seat nearest the Judge or you could be called upon to be the Foreman (Foreperson ?).
Sign In or Register to comment.

Roland Out Forever!