jury

october 2005

 

warwick crown court
i wasn't allowed to write about it in my diary
but now that it's over, i can write this

in the autumn on 2004, i was summoned for jury duty at warwick crown court
and the following week, i was summoned for leamington magistrates court
once you're on the electoral role, you can be selected, at random, for jury service
get called to 2 different courts in 2 weeks, doesn't sound very random to me
i was busy at work, so i managed to defer the crown court summons
and the magistrates trial never got to court

in the spring of 2005, i got another summons to crown court in warwick
you can only defer once
and the timing wasn't so critical this time
so, i got ready for it

on the monday, i had to get there for 9.30
no mobile phone, camera or ipod nano
there's a security metal detector thing
but i wasn't asked to provide any identification
i joined the other jurors in the partitioned area in the main hall of the court
there are about 30 jurors here today
the court is 500 years old
a pretty impressive stone building
very high ceilings

after an hour or so, we're shown into the jury deliberation room
we're shown a dvd of our role today
then go back to sit in the waiting area
people start chatting now
mainly about how they got here
the crown court draws on the whole county
so, some have come a long way
with some difficulty

after another hour or so, 15 names have been chosen at random
the names are read out
including someone else called andrew
my name is about the 12th name to be read out
the chosen ones wait outside the court room
court number 1
now, 12 of us are chosen to go inside
this time, i'm the 10th juror to be picked
walk into the court
it's old, wood paneled, steep
there's not many people here

the prosecution starts off
she explains the charge
one of burglary
one man broke into another man's house
through the window in the back door
the first witness is the man who owns the house
he's very awkward in the witness stand
he mumbles his words and is often confused
maybe he has learning difficulties, i don't know

the next witnesses are 2 young boys
they'll be shown on video link
but that'll be after lunch
we retire from the court room
due back in an hour
coat on
walk straight out
get some lunch from boots
back to the waiting area
eat lunch here
chat with one of the jurors who wasn't chosen

go back into the court room
back into the same seats
the 2 boys give their evidence over video link
they seem pretty competent witnesses
it all comes down to their testimony
the lawyer for the defence questions them
and tries to trick them with his questions
he's not a great lawyer
next, 2 policemen are called to give evidence

the prosecution rests
although no one actually said that
the defence begins
their only witness is the accused
he takes to the witness stand
and he stands back from the microphone, which is odd
apart from this, he's quite confident
more than a couple of times, the judge has to intervene and shut him up
the accused isn't really disputing the entry of the house
but he says it's because he feared for the health of the owner
hmm
the prosecution questions him
then he resumes his seat with the security guards

both lawyers sum up
this takes us to 3.45
the judge will sum up tomorrow morning
so we can go
we leave

next day
into court for 10.15
i get there at 10.10 and i'm one of the last to arrive
this time, i have nano, camera and phone
the security guards show no concern over this
and i still don't have to prove my identity
wait and chat
into court
same seats
the judge quickly starts summing up
telling us about the law and our responsibilities
we file out
to the deliberation room
we're not to talk to anyone else
not even the usher
hand over our mobile phones
we're left in the room
a foreman is chosen
we start discussing the trial
the salient points
a couple of the jurors seem unsure of the guilt of the accused
but they're playing devil's advocate
which is good
we go back into court to hear some of the evidence again
back to the room
make progress
and, quickly, we've decided on his guilt
let the usher know
wait
get our mobile phones back
file back to the court room
sit down
our foreman answers the questions
the accused looks confused by the verdict
but then the judge reads out the criminal record of the accused man
it's long and features violence, theft and drugs
ahh
the judge will now decide on sentencing
it's up to us whether we want to stick around for this
we leave the room
back into the waiting area
chat
then we're told we're not needed
not for the this week or the next
ahh, that's a shock
i was kind of enjoying it ....

i can expect another summons, sometime in the future
but you only get called up twice

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