leyton.org

So not long after getting a jury-shortlist letter, I actually received a Jury service citation. Whilst I’m clearly not going to go into the specifics of when or where I’m serving, I’m still very much in two minds about it.

On the one hand, I’m quite aware it’s a part of my civic duty. Indeed, I’m very curious about the process, and quite looking forward to seeing how it all works. I’ve only been in a court once before. That wasn’t a pleasant experience, as I was seeing through charges after a pissed football “fan” punched me in the head one evening as Frances and I were heading out to a nearby restaurant. I have only very slight recollections of the court itself - other than it was all rather intimidating. I’m still rather miffed I was never told the “fan” was restricted from visiting the borough in which the incident happened, and other than that he was found guilty (thanks to the police officer leading the case giving me a call), I’ve no idea what sentence was given. So I have a lot of sympathy with arguments that the legal system in the UK doesn’t put victims very high up the priority list, even if it was a relatively minor incident: I just felt like an afterthought.

I doubt it’ll be that different, at least initially, if I do find myself sitting on a Jury, but I’m intrigued by how the court system works, and am very curious about how it’ll feel to be presented by evidence, testimony’s. Whilst I’m a bit of a fan of the occasional American court drama, I’m in no doubt the process here in the UK (and, within that, in Scotland) will be very different, so quite how it works will be fascinating.

But curiosity will only last so long, and the rest of it is what’s weighing heavily on me, and making me feel I won’t exactly relish the whole experience. Even before I sit down in the room with the jurors, and have to decide matters, listen to others, make points and generally deliberate. A group of strangers with differing views, in a slightly stressed situation, will probably mean it could get a bit tense.

I’ve not been exactly enamoured by the process to date. Badly photocopied letters and bulk process the jury service seem to employ, and the expectation of wasted time (’bring something to read’ etc etc). I appreciate there’s uncertainty in it, not least they need to have more jurors available than they need for various reasons, and then there’s the ballot. So the chances of me serving are still reasonably slim. But in this technical time I’d have expected something a bit more, er, customised. Maybe even a website service. As it is I have a freephone number which I’m given to understand has a recorded message explaining who and who isn’t needed. It all feels very mass-produced, impersonal and, to be honest, ungrateful. OK, so the time-passing is necessary. The judicial system isn’t by it’s nature a swift one.

There’s also the inconvenience. I simply cannot afford to spend more than a couple of weeks doing this. In the context of the compensation forms, I don’t fall under the term ’self-employed’ (rather, I’m director of a small company, and have a salary that’s not time dependent). I’m not paid by the hour. Rather my company loses out as a result of my not being billable, not me personally in the immediate sense. The system doesn’t deal with that. So whilst my company does have insurance for this eventuality, it’s very limited. And that’s even before my clients inconvenience (Something that can’t be measured or compensated). I won’t be contactable (as I normally am) during business hours. I will have to plead special consideration if there is a likelihood of a trial going on for more than a couple of weeks, and I expect to have to do work at the end of each day to keep up with matters. Some projects and issues I’m involved with simply can’t be put on hold.

I suppose I’m annoyed too that it seems so commonplace it is that people I know here seem to have been called to serve on a Jury. It only took four years of living here before I was called. It really doesn’t speak very well of the city, unless the people I know are simply unlucky.

So I’m all a bit mixed up about it. This post is a little mixed up, which I’m not going to apologise for: It’s how I feel right now. It’ll be fascinating at first, I’m sure. Most likely frustrating (if I have a lot of time wasted, or don’t get “used” after all this build-up). Even if I do actually serve on a Jury, I’m not exactly excited by spending a lot of time with strangers in that sort of environment, with important decisions to make.

Civic duty is important to me, but - much like my experience with the courts down in London after being assaulted - I find myself feeling like a small and insignificant part of the process, and one who’s situation is different from the norm, so I risk losing quite a bit more than a few days pay. All very impersonal. Perhaps I’m simply expecting far too much of an over-stretched bureaucracy, but other than a small bit of curiosity, I’m not too optimistic this particular obligation will be one I look back on positively.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Glasgow, Personal, Ramblings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.