Jury service

General
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Hi there. Has anyone here ever been called for jury service please and worried about their ability to do it?

Thanks

Lulu

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Hi Lulu,

I have been sent forms for Jury Eligibility (in Canada). Section 3 of the form asks if I am mentally able to perform a juror’s tasks. I always select “No,” because of the following reasons:

  1. Memory problems. Even if I could have access to court notes during the verdict process, I don’t feel they would give me enough information to make a fair verdict. (For example, I would want to base my decision on other factors like body language; essentially I fear there are key details of a trial that I would forget when making a verdict.)
  2. Fatigue. I fear that a lengthy trial would diminish my mental capacity. I remember how tired my brain used to feel after a six hour school day, and the amount of attention required in court would harm my mental capabilities.
  3. Concentration. I have really struggled to focus, especially after my second bleed, and I don’t feel I would be able invest the required attention needed to serve as a juror.

I hope this helps! I have never received a jury summons; I believe that my answers on the form deem me ineligible for selection.

Love, Julia

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Thanks so much Julia. That’s brilliant. I am appealing my jury service on the exact grounds you give. Hopefully the jury service will take my appeal seriously because I really don’t know if I could cope with all the stress and sitting in a hot courtroom for hours over 2 weeks. And thats even if I manage to get there (its not in my home town) in the first place! Best wishes.

Lulu

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I went about 15 years ago. It was an arduous day. I was one of a very big group. We spent most of the day in a court room where the judge weeded people out. I was let go. But, I could never go again, it’s way more than I can handle. Just tell them your situation and hopefully they won’t summon you again.

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Thanks very much. I have texted them. Hopefully they’ll come back soon.

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Hi Lulu

I’ve done jury service in UK and generally it seemed a lot of sitting around.

Firstly you are in a big pool, then you get put in a team of 12. The judge explains what going on and everyone has to state that they know nothing and nobody involved in the case.

Listening through all the evidence and questions can be a bit much. Some jurors make lots of notes others none.

Usually you only get called once in your life so I doubt I’d be back.

Tim

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Thanks very much Tim. Thats really helpful.

Lulu

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I was called for jury a couple years after my craniotomy. The case was malpractice for brain surgery. The judge thought I was an excellent candidate because of my surgery. Back then, brain surgery was treated like healing a small cut. Once the blood is gone, they expected total recovery. He didn’t understand (or care) that the 25 hour surgery was a bad experience for me. He got very angry at me for not wanting to relive that experience in court. The argument during the jury selection got very heated. I thought I was going to be arrested. He finally got disgusted (his words) with me and kicked me out.

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Thanks very much for sharing Armand. Gosh, sounds like an awful experience.

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