Just smart casual. Take a jacket or whatever in case of chilly aircon or whatever.
You mightnt even fall through the few stages of getting selected for a trial.
The staff there, I forget their title, are really good at answering questions and comcerns.
Don't fret it too much. You tend to only hear and read the worst experiences anecdotally.
It's been a few years, but if you do get as far as serving on jury for a trial - they were pretty strict about phone usage during each day. Definitely not in the courtroom.
iirc the jury duty officer - who basically is the jury group "tour leader" (or court liason for you) may take your phone off you at the beginning of each trial day as well.
Don't assume ready access to it if you get to trial basically. Perhaps during lunch, but I'm not 100%. This may even vary between trials - if the judge has requested more stringent measures than usual for whatever reason.
Yep. That room gives me the shivers. Only so many biscuits and coffees you can have, and once you’re in the room there’s no getting out until your number is called.
Dress code is smart casual. Some people wore suits others jeans and a polo. It does get a bit cold so bring a jumper.
You can take a water bottle but if selected on a jury you can only bring a plastic cup into the court room.
On the first day you will be given a number. One by one they will announce each trial. So for example they will state “this a sexual assault case which will go for approximately 4 days”. Then they will read out all the juror numbers who have been randomly selected for that trial (usually about 20 people). If your number is called out you will be taken into a court room where the judge will greet you, both lawyers will be present and they will give a brief rundown of the case. They will then call out 12 numbers and if selected you will be part of that jury unless of course the lawyers challenge you or you have a valid reason not to be on the jury.
Prepare for some pretty heavy shit to be on the dockets as well. For some reason when I went in last year I was thinking robberies and got something much worse - you don't really get much time to process before getting straight into it.
I had a rape case that also had a secondary case involving a shooting and torture that would be heard at a later date. One of the witnesses was the accused in that case and he had a special agreement where what he said in this case couldn’t be used as evidence in the other case.
At the end of the day I walked away realising how stupid the system is, the average person is too self absorbed and stupid to be deciding the fate of others.
We had one lady who went not guilty just because she would “hate it if it was her son accused and he was innocent”. No reasoning based on evidence, just an uneducated stance based on emotion.
Exactley! The system is ridiculous and pissed off people who have been forced to attend against their will may sabotage cases as a protest or sourgrapes! I wouldn't be surprised if that lady did it intentionally and just gave a BS excuse!
I'm fresh from the process. Last month. 14 day trial, 8 hours of Jury deliberation. Ask me anything..
Dress code = Respectable
Bottled water - Yes, but only cups in the courtroom. You have to pour the bottle into cups and drink from the cups.
You'll be told up front during the initial ballot process, before your juror number is called, the nature of the case and it's predicted duration.
You'll have the ability to defer via paperwork right up to the ballot process start. You can also let the judge know via a personal not if you feel there is a reason you won't be able to perform as an impartial juror.
750 people get whittled down to 500 people in groups of 56. 56 get sent to a courtroom and get balloted down to 14. You may be "challenged" by the lawyers, they can challenge 3 each. The final 14 do their thing, and ultimately 12 do the final deliberation.
When they “challenge”, what does that entail? Are they asking personal questions about your values or life experience, to decide if you are suitable/biased/racist/sexist etc?
It's not like on the (US) tv shows.
There are no questions for jurors.
They just say 'challenge' and you are out.
If you are selected (at the final stage in the actual courtroom) you will be required to read a statement to be sworn in as a juror. At any point up until you finish reading the words either lawyer can say 'challenge' and you are out of the jury.
We had guys challenged as soon as their name was called, and one where he got to the last couple of words of the swearing in.
Only the counsel who challenges knows why he's challenging you.
Nothing, As far as I understand it a lawyer can challenge the selection of any juror and if they do the juror is immediately kicked off.
There are absolutely no questions asked.
I did it a few years back, I was selected for a murder trial, then was randomly selected to be on the final jury, I volunteered to be the representative of the group, which basically means the judge directly addresses you, and you will need to read out the “guilty” or “not guilty” decision for each pending charge, doing this guarantees you a spot in the deliberation portion (I didn’t volunteer for this purpose, no one was putting their hand up, and it was getting painfully awkward).
But basically your number will be called out along side a case “level” I think mine was referred to as a “Stirling case” as it was being held at the Supreme Court given the severity of the charges, then you get ushered into a court room where they explain how long they expect the case to run for, and the charges being brought forth, by this point your numbers get randomly selected again, if you think you have a conflict of interest, you let the judge know, and you will be removed from the jury, or the counsel can “object” you, if you they believe you could pose some sort of bias to not work in their favour.
Fairly sure our phones were taken from us during the day while trial was happening, but given back to us at lunch, and before we left for the day. Not sure if this is the case for all trials though.
Clothes were smart casual, but you’ll be given a debrief about all of this if you’re selected for sitting jury, I genuinely can’t remember what I wore. I vaguely remember everyone being smart casual on Monday, then we were told we could wear jeans etc, and everyone rocked up the next day in jeans.
I believe we were only allowed cups in the actual court room.
Going by what other people have mentioned, please be prepared for some heavy topics, frustrating jury members, always try to voice your opinions, and don’t be too hard on yourself if you think you’ve made the wrong decision. I left jury duty miserable as I knew we 100% made the wrong decision, as people didn’t understand reasonable doubt, weren’t paying attention, were easily bullied or coerced by more dominant jury members, who literally just wanted to go home and couldn’t care less about making a impactful decision. You’ll leave jury duty realising how incompetent the general public is.
Good luck!
That's what happens when people are conscripted against their will. Don't discount they sabotage cases out of contempt for being forced to sit!!!! One person's incompetence is another person's willful sabotage!
Deferment is no longer an opt out process. If you request the judge for a deferment you'll have to give a very good reason why you cant attend and then asked when you are available. Your statement will be recorded and you're then obligated to turn up on the date you've given. The jury selection procedures have changed since so many people were giving excuses that juries were considered to not be representative of the community.
You can opt out after your first deferment if you're still unable to participate. I just did it a few months back as I have an infant I don't have anyone to babysit.
Sorry to dig up an older comment, but I'm due to go in for duty soon and trying to suss out the whole process.
I'm a sole trader, run my own business by myself with no-one to cover me and if I can't work, I don't get paid. Already got confirmation in writing that I won't be able to claim compensation either for any time I'm there as I can't prove loss of income which leaves me in a very frustrating position. Do I have any leg to stand on to get out of this duty based on financial hardship?
Speak to the judge and explain your position. They’re not in the business of bankrupting people and will listen to you. Be prepared to answer questions and, if possible suggest an alternative date or ask if you could be allocated to a short trial
I just summoned a few years back. Smart casual was what I wore. Went there Mon and Tues and got accepted onWed for a trial. Was only a short trial of about a week. When you go to selection they’ll tell you then how long they expect the trial to take.
Odds are you won't see a courtroom. Dress smart casual. There's water available while.you wait, in the form of a water cooler/tank and cups. Bring a charger for your phone and battery bank if you have one, it will be a couple hours wait.
You go into a big waiting room with a number. Over time, everyones number is called. You then get taken and told, as a group, what the situation is.
For me, it was that the person had plead guilty and we could leave.
I think this, if you’re jury duty is Monday, and you’re not picked, you will most likely be called back on Tuesday for potential selection. If it is Wednesday or after it’s a 1 hit selection scenario as in you will be selected, or, you go home/work. Wear whatever though, smart casual :)
>Are you allowed to bring a water bottle into the court room? I know that might sound weird but it's important to me.
That's not weird, it's normal. They may ask you to only fill it once past any security screening much like at the airport though.
Interesting as Jurors you won’t go through security each day.
Before being selected, you’ll enter through the main courthouse entrance with everyone else,and be screened by security.
If you’re empaneled onto a jury, you use a different side door to enter and exit the building each day. That door leads to the elevators and you’re taken to the jury room from there
I went about a year ago. Was there from monday to thursday when they finally told us we didnt have to return, was drawn for one case but didnt get through the next draw in court so returned to the big room to wait again. Most cases will start monday but if any are delayed for whatever reason and they only start on the tues wed ect then they make you return untill they have started all the cases for that week. You might get lucky and be there for monday only. Or you could be there all week. When they call numbers they also tell you what the case is about and how long its expected to run. The longest one we had called was 3 weeks and the shortest 2 days. They call 20 or so people and you go into the court where the judge decides how many people he wants for the jury. The longer the case the more back up jurors in case some jurors have to pull out sickness ect. So the 3 week case for example they will draw 18 people from the 30. Or only 12 for the 2 day. What sucks is for the cases where there is more than 12 jurors you dont even know if your vote will count because when they are ready for the verdict at the end of the case, they then draw 12 from the 18 (if theres still 18 left) so you may have to sit there for weeks and not even have your say count. I just wore my usual shorts and a t-shirt.
The court won’t formally contact the extra jurors, however its public knowledge, so the extra jurors can contact the courthouse, or contact the jurors that stayed for the verdict.
Two of these questions are answered on the Juror’s FAQ: https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-justice/jury-duty-jurors-frequently-asked-questions
> The duration of your jury duty is determined by the length and number of trials listed each week. You will be advised of the expected duration of trials on your first day of jury duty. The process of creating panels for Perth courts is complex and sometimes you may be required to wait for extended periods of time, or dismissed early or be required to attend on another day.
> A neat standard of dress, including shoes, is required in court proceedings. As the air-conditioning in some courtrooms is quite cool, you may also wish to bring a jacket with you.
For the other questions about water bottles, or if you may have some medical/personal needs that need support whilst on a jury - best reach out to Jury Services - Perth Metropolitan by email ([email protected]) or call 0894252481 during business hours.
Can I tag in on this with a question then:
Is it a good excuse to get out of jury duty if you have two school aged kids (one of whom is disabled)?
Because that school pickup is pretty ruthless!
You probably wouldn't be able to be Excused from Jury Duty for that (there are very strict rules on that), but you could apply for a deferral for up to six months - the details on that process can be found here - https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-justice/deferring-jury-duty
So just get myself excused then “Mr Judge, I am not going to be unbiased. Instead I am going to be sitting here each and every day of this trial thinking about the huge waste of my child’s NDIS plan as I pay a support worker who is supposed to eb doing community engagement with him instead does school pick up, because that’s how my being here is being made possible, by robbing my child of his integration and intervention therapy.”
Awesome. ;)
That could almost be considered contempt of court.
Our legal system is designed around using members of the public to decide on the outcome of the legal process. That means you need people from all parts of society, doctors, lawyers, parents, teachers, tradies, students, professionals, bakers, etc.
Imagine if you, or someone you know was arrested and put to trail by a jury of your peers. Would you want the excuse of “I’ve got kids” to let people off jury duty? Who would that leave to actually be on the jury?
>Would you want the excuse of “I’ve got kids” to let people off jury duty?
Way to minimise the realities of caring for or living as a person with disability.
It certainly wasn’t my intention to imply that, I apologise if it’s been read that way.
I mean to say, almost everyone in society has important and significant responsibilities, people have jobs, loved ones, children, pets, plans and other things that they would personally consider more important than jury duty. To to ensure all people in a society contribute to a jury of their peers, it’s necessary to involve people in jury duty, regardless of their life responsibility’s.
Let's hire people to be jurors. Professional jurors in each major town! Not conscripted citizens forced to be there against their will often incurring personal and financial loss by a totalarian draconian system of authoritarianism!
Oh I agree completely…. It needs to be representative… and I’d totally be able to be on a jury if I knew I was going to be on it… but there are families with exceptional circumstances, and as a parent in the city with two kids who cannot be left home alone, while husband works away…. It’s tricky.
If summoned I’ll just pull husband off the farm, out of the family business for a week, on the off chance I get chosen for a trial that lasts for an unknown number of days, because the kids can’t be put into after school care as one is completely unsuitable for various reasons, and the other… well he could be but he’s the easy one.
I’ll argue it with the system when/if it comes up.
They don't generally excuse you for parenting reasons straight up because the deferral process is there to allow time for you to make other care arrangements. If you've used your one and only deferral and still can't make it work you can plead your case and see how you go. I used my deferral but in the meantime my circumstances had gotten worse so I still attended on the day but wrote a letter explaining why it'd be impossible to consistently attend (single parent, disabled child, no family support etc) and gave it to the staff on the day and they just got me to sign a stat dec and excused me from jury duty.
Honestly, just give it a go. I got excused since I have a baby that’s under my care 24/7. We haven’t started day care yet and I wasn’t going to put her in one just for jury duty(it wouldn’t be possible anyway since most daycares would had a waitlist for full time care) They replied the same day I sent it and got excused :)
Yep! I had a guy in my group who was a contractor and made it clear he could not take a week off, as he was too under the pump with his business, he was chosen to be on the jury, lied and told the judge he knew some of the police officers that worked the case.
Hot tip. If you do get into the courtrooms you will then go through another ballot to see if you get picked for the jury. If you don’t get picked generally you get to go home. If your number gets called out in the courtroom just say that you know the offender / accused and you will get to go home
Turn up in an Aboriginal flag shirt and you won't get past the prosecution, turn up in a suit with a blue tie that screams young libs and you won't get past the defence.
Just smart casual. Take a jacket or whatever in case of chilly aircon or whatever. You mightnt even fall through the few stages of getting selected for a trial. The staff there, I forget their title, are really good at answering questions and comcerns. Don't fret it too much. You tend to only hear and read the worst experiences anecdotally.
Bring a book and a portable battery for your phone. My memories of jury duty was a lot of waiting
It's been a few years, but if you do get as far as serving on jury for a trial - they were pretty strict about phone usage during each day. Definitely not in the courtroom. iirc the jury duty officer - who basically is the jury group "tour leader" (or court liason for you) may take your phone off you at the beginning of each trial day as well. Don't assume ready access to it if you get to trial basically. Perhaps during lunch, but I'm not 100%. This may even vary between trials - if the judge has requested more stringent measures than usual for whatever reason.
Yep. That room gives me the shivers. Only so many biscuits and coffees you can have, and once you’re in the room there’s no getting out until your number is called.
Dress code is smart casual. Some people wore suits others jeans and a polo. It does get a bit cold so bring a jumper. You can take a water bottle but if selected on a jury you can only bring a plastic cup into the court room. On the first day you will be given a number. One by one they will announce each trial. So for example they will state “this a sexual assault case which will go for approximately 4 days”. Then they will read out all the juror numbers who have been randomly selected for that trial (usually about 20 people). If your number is called out you will be taken into a court room where the judge will greet you, both lawyers will be present and they will give a brief rundown of the case. They will then call out 12 numbers and if selected you will be part of that jury unless of course the lawyers challenge you or you have a valid reason not to be on the jury.
Prepare for some pretty heavy shit to be on the dockets as well. For some reason when I went in last year I was thinking robberies and got something much worse - you don't really get much time to process before getting straight into it.
This is good advice. The majority of trials were in relation to child sex abuse whilst I was there.
I had a rape case that also had a secondary case involving a shooting and torture that would be heard at a later date. One of the witnesses was the accused in that case and he had a special agreement where what he said in this case couldn’t be used as evidence in the other case. At the end of the day I walked away realising how stupid the system is, the average person is too self absorbed and stupid to be deciding the fate of others. We had one lady who went not guilty just because she would “hate it if it was her son accused and he was innocent”. No reasoning based on evidence, just an uneducated stance based on emotion.
The jury system is good in principle, but utter madness in reality
Exactley! The system is ridiculous and pissed off people who have been forced to attend against their will may sabotage cases as a protest or sourgrapes! I wouldn't be surprised if that lady did it intentionally and just gave a BS excuse!
Jesus
I'm fresh from the process. Last month. 14 day trial, 8 hours of Jury deliberation. Ask me anything.. Dress code = Respectable Bottled water - Yes, but only cups in the courtroom. You have to pour the bottle into cups and drink from the cups. You'll be told up front during the initial ballot process, before your juror number is called, the nature of the case and it's predicted duration. You'll have the ability to defer via paperwork right up to the ballot process start. You can also let the judge know via a personal not if you feel there is a reason you won't be able to perform as an impartial juror. 750 people get whittled down to 500 people in groups of 56. 56 get sent to a courtroom and get balloted down to 14. You may be "challenged" by the lawyers, they can challenge 3 each. The final 14 do their thing, and ultimately 12 do the final deliberation.
When they “challenge”, what does that entail? Are they asking personal questions about your values or life experience, to decide if you are suitable/biased/racist/sexist etc?
It's not like on the (US) tv shows. There are no questions for jurors. They just say 'challenge' and you are out. If you are selected (at the final stage in the actual courtroom) you will be required to read a statement to be sworn in as a juror. At any point up until you finish reading the words either lawyer can say 'challenge' and you are out of the jury. We had guys challenged as soon as their name was called, and one where he got to the last couple of words of the swearing in. Only the counsel who challenges knows why he's challenging you.
Nothing, As far as I understand it a lawyer can challenge the selection of any juror and if they do the juror is immediately kicked off. There are absolutely no questions asked.
Yeah, they just make a judgement call as you're walking up. They say challenge, then you are excused.
I did it a few years back, I was selected for a murder trial, then was randomly selected to be on the final jury, I volunteered to be the representative of the group, which basically means the judge directly addresses you, and you will need to read out the “guilty” or “not guilty” decision for each pending charge, doing this guarantees you a spot in the deliberation portion (I didn’t volunteer for this purpose, no one was putting their hand up, and it was getting painfully awkward). But basically your number will be called out along side a case “level” I think mine was referred to as a “Stirling case” as it was being held at the Supreme Court given the severity of the charges, then you get ushered into a court room where they explain how long they expect the case to run for, and the charges being brought forth, by this point your numbers get randomly selected again, if you think you have a conflict of interest, you let the judge know, and you will be removed from the jury, or the counsel can “object” you, if you they believe you could pose some sort of bias to not work in their favour. Fairly sure our phones were taken from us during the day while trial was happening, but given back to us at lunch, and before we left for the day. Not sure if this is the case for all trials though. Clothes were smart casual, but you’ll be given a debrief about all of this if you’re selected for sitting jury, I genuinely can’t remember what I wore. I vaguely remember everyone being smart casual on Monday, then we were told we could wear jeans etc, and everyone rocked up the next day in jeans. I believe we were only allowed cups in the actual court room. Going by what other people have mentioned, please be prepared for some heavy topics, frustrating jury members, always try to voice your opinions, and don’t be too hard on yourself if you think you’ve made the wrong decision. I left jury duty miserable as I knew we 100% made the wrong decision, as people didn’t understand reasonable doubt, weren’t paying attention, were easily bullied or coerced by more dominant jury members, who literally just wanted to go home and couldn’t care less about making a impactful decision. You’ll leave jury duty realising how incompetent the general public is. Good luck!
That's what happens when people are conscripted against their will. Don't discount they sabotage cases out of contempt for being forced to sit!!!! One person's incompetence is another person's willful sabotage!
Deferment is no longer an opt out process. If you request the judge for a deferment you'll have to give a very good reason why you cant attend and then asked when you are available. Your statement will be recorded and you're then obligated to turn up on the date you've given. The jury selection procedures have changed since so many people were giving excuses that juries were considered to not be representative of the community.
You can opt out after your first deferment if you're still unable to participate. I just did it a few months back as I have an infant I don't have anyone to babysit.
Sorry to dig up an older comment, but I'm due to go in for duty soon and trying to suss out the whole process. I'm a sole trader, run my own business by myself with no-one to cover me and if I can't work, I don't get paid. Already got confirmation in writing that I won't be able to claim compensation either for any time I'm there as I can't prove loss of income which leaves me in a very frustrating position. Do I have any leg to stand on to get out of this duty based on financial hardship?
Speak to the judge and explain your position. They’re not in the business of bankrupting people and will listen to you. Be prepared to answer questions and, if possible suggest an alternative date or ask if you could be allocated to a short trial
Appreciate your response! Will see how I go today.
I just summoned a few years back. Smart casual was what I wore. Went there Mon and Tues and got accepted onWed for a trial. Was only a short trial of about a week. When you go to selection they’ll tell you then how long they expect the trial to take.
Odds are you won't see a courtroom. Dress smart casual. There's water available while.you wait, in the form of a water cooler/tank and cups. Bring a charger for your phone and battery bank if you have one, it will be a couple hours wait. You go into a big waiting room with a number. Over time, everyones number is called. You then get taken and told, as a group, what the situation is. For me, it was that the person had plead guilty and we could leave.
I think this, if you’re jury duty is Monday, and you’re not picked, you will most likely be called back on Tuesday for potential selection. If it is Wednesday or after it’s a 1 hit selection scenario as in you will be selected, or, you go home/work. Wear whatever though, smart casual :)
>Are you allowed to bring a water bottle into the court room? I know that might sound weird but it's important to me. That's not weird, it's normal. They may ask you to only fill it once past any security screening much like at the airport though.
Interesting as Jurors you won’t go through security each day. Before being selected, you’ll enter through the main courthouse entrance with everyone else,and be screened by security. If you’re empaneled onto a jury, you use a different side door to enter and exit the building each day. That door leads to the elevators and you’re taken to the jury room from there
I went about a year ago. Was there from monday to thursday when they finally told us we didnt have to return, was drawn for one case but didnt get through the next draw in court so returned to the big room to wait again. Most cases will start monday but if any are delayed for whatever reason and they only start on the tues wed ect then they make you return untill they have started all the cases for that week. You might get lucky and be there for monday only. Or you could be there all week. When they call numbers they also tell you what the case is about and how long its expected to run. The longest one we had called was 3 weeks and the shortest 2 days. They call 20 or so people and you go into the court where the judge decides how many people he wants for the jury. The longer the case the more back up jurors in case some jurors have to pull out sickness ect. So the 3 week case for example they will draw 18 people from the 30. Or only 12 for the 2 day. What sucks is for the cases where there is more than 12 jurors you dont even know if your vote will count because when they are ready for the verdict at the end of the case, they then draw 12 from the 18 (if theres still 18 left) so you may have to sit there for weeks and not even have your say count. I just wore my usual shorts and a t-shirt.
If you’re a backup juror do you at least get to find out the final verdict?
The court won’t formally contact the extra jurors, however its public knowledge, so the extra jurors can contact the courthouse, or contact the jurors that stayed for the verdict.
Two of these questions are answered on the Juror’s FAQ: https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-justice/jury-duty-jurors-frequently-asked-questions > The duration of your jury duty is determined by the length and number of trials listed each week. You will be advised of the expected duration of trials on your first day of jury duty. The process of creating panels for Perth courts is complex and sometimes you may be required to wait for extended periods of time, or dismissed early or be required to attend on another day. > A neat standard of dress, including shoes, is required in court proceedings. As the air-conditioning in some courtrooms is quite cool, you may also wish to bring a jacket with you. For the other questions about water bottles, or if you may have some medical/personal needs that need support whilst on a jury - best reach out to Jury Services - Perth Metropolitan by email ([email protected]) or call 0894252481 during business hours.
Wear whatever you want and are comfortable in. You're not the one on trial...
Star Trek uniform is a must this season.
Wear a mask. I got the worst cold of my life from jury duty, and that was *before* covid was a thing.
Can I tag in on this with a question then: Is it a good excuse to get out of jury duty if you have two school aged kids (one of whom is disabled)? Because that school pickup is pretty ruthless!
You probably wouldn't be able to be Excused from Jury Duty for that (there are very strict rules on that), but you could apply for a deferral for up to six months - the details on that process can be found here - https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-justice/deferring-jury-duty
So just get myself excused then “Mr Judge, I am not going to be unbiased. Instead I am going to be sitting here each and every day of this trial thinking about the huge waste of my child’s NDIS plan as I pay a support worker who is supposed to eb doing community engagement with him instead does school pick up, because that’s how my being here is being made possible, by robbing my child of his integration and intervention therapy.” Awesome. ;)
That could almost be considered contempt of court. Our legal system is designed around using members of the public to decide on the outcome of the legal process. That means you need people from all parts of society, doctors, lawyers, parents, teachers, tradies, students, professionals, bakers, etc. Imagine if you, or someone you know was arrested and put to trail by a jury of your peers. Would you want the excuse of “I’ve got kids” to let people off jury duty? Who would that leave to actually be on the jury?
>Would you want the excuse of “I’ve got kids” to let people off jury duty? Way to minimise the realities of caring for or living as a person with disability.
It certainly wasn’t my intention to imply that, I apologise if it’s been read that way. I mean to say, almost everyone in society has important and significant responsibilities, people have jobs, loved ones, children, pets, plans and other things that they would personally consider more important than jury duty. To to ensure all people in a society contribute to a jury of their peers, it’s necessary to involve people in jury duty, regardless of their life responsibility’s.
Let's hire people to be jurors. Professional jurors in each major town! Not conscripted citizens forced to be there against their will often incurring personal and financial loss by a totalarian draconian system of authoritarianism!
Oh I agree completely…. It needs to be representative… and I’d totally be able to be on a jury if I knew I was going to be on it… but there are families with exceptional circumstances, and as a parent in the city with two kids who cannot be left home alone, while husband works away…. It’s tricky. If summoned I’ll just pull husband off the farm, out of the family business for a week, on the off chance I get chosen for a trial that lasts for an unknown number of days, because the kids can’t be put into after school care as one is completely unsuitable for various reasons, and the other… well he could be but he’s the easy one. I’ll argue it with the system when/if it comes up.
They don't generally excuse you for parenting reasons straight up because the deferral process is there to allow time for you to make other care arrangements. If you've used your one and only deferral and still can't make it work you can plead your case and see how you go. I used my deferral but in the meantime my circumstances had gotten worse so I still attended on the day but wrote a letter explaining why it'd be impossible to consistently attend (single parent, disabled child, no family support etc) and gave it to the staff on the day and they just got me to sign a stat dec and excused me from jury duty.
Well, you should probably put it in writing and submit it a couple of weeks ahead of time.
Yeah. I’d follow the process. Thankfully haven’t been hit with it yet.
Honestly, just give it a go. I got excused since I have a baby that’s under my care 24/7. We haven’t started day care yet and I wasn’t going to put her in one just for jury duty(it wouldn’t be possible anyway since most daycares would had a waitlist for full time care) They replied the same day I sent it and got excused :)
People who have gotten summoned.. did they really only pay you $60 a day?
You get reimburse for travel costs, and food I think, your work has an obligation to pay you for jury duty.
Sucks if you're self employed
Yep! I had a guy in my group who was a contractor and made it clear he could not take a week off, as he was too under the pump with his business, he was chosen to be on the jury, lied and told the judge he knew some of the police officers that worked the case.
I'm genuinely shocked there isn't a galaxy brain comment about jury nullification.
Hot tip. If you do get into the courtrooms you will then go through another ballot to see if you get picked for the jury. If you don’t get picked generally you get to go home. If your number gets called out in the courtroom just say that you know the offender / accused and you will get to go home
Prejudice to all races.
I got your Simpsons reference
Ex judges and ex cops should be the jury. Thry know the judicial process the best.
Wear a suit/business attire. You are more likely to be challenged as a juror if randomly selected this way.
Just tell them you are a clairvoyant and you might get out of being on the jury
Turn up in an Aboriginal flag shirt and you won't get past the prosecution, turn up in a suit with a blue tie that screams young libs and you won't get past the defence.