Topic: wasted day

[ACE]

As if I ain't got enough to do. One of the first good days I could be at the nursery, I had to attend for jury service. Get there at ten, wait around for 2 hours. Then they pick the jury, (luckily I was not picked else the little scrote would be hung).  Then they break for lunch for an hour and a half. After that back to the court to wait and see if ther has been any objections to the jury, 1 hour later, then the rest of us were told we can go.

But I have to phone at 4 oclock each day for up to a fortnight to see if I have to go all through it again. I fancied a long weekend in Devon next weekend so it looks as if that has the mockers on it now.

[cornykev]

Sometimes life can be a pregnant dog Ace, :'(  to think you could be out Tractor spotting.  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[OllieC]

In my case the CPS spent 3 weeks doing their best to make me out to be a criminal. At the end of the 3 weeks, the jury took almost no time to reach their unanimous "not guilty" verdict, and the judge tore a strip off the prosecution for wasting everyone's time. It was the most unpleasant experience of my life, and to have 12 normal people listen to all the info & agree with me was such a relief.

If the jury had all had your attitude ACE, I'd have got between 3 and 4 years prison sentence. Instead they took it seriously, listened to the evidence, understood the arguments and reached the only obvious conclusion.

So ACE, they're not all scrotes and you can actually help innocent people to walk free as well as banging up criminals. It probably is a bit dull when it's not your life hanging in the balance, but hang in there!

[asbean]

I do hope you were joking, Ace.  I was called for jury service about 10 years ago,but couldn't do it as I had just left to live in Italy. The trial I missed was Rosemary West's.

Last week I was a character witness in court for someone I've known for a while, who did something really really stupid when he was desparate, he pleaded guilty, and is in prison now.  I'm taking his wife and new-born baby to visit him tomorrow.  He is no way a scrote, but he did get the sentence he deserved.

Not everyone who goes to court as a defendant is guilty - that's what juries are for. 

[ACE]

Of course I am joking but still very annoyed that I have to give my time up. I will now have to make up the lost time which is more time away from my family.

Also for the next 14 days or so I am at the beck and call of the courts. I'm sorry but other peoples problems are their own making. I have better things to do.  I understand pretty soon the jury system is going to be dropped in all but the most severe cases.  So perhaps a few innocents will go to jail, it still serves the same purpose, a warning to the rest of us has been given.

[asbean]

Yes, they keep you hanging about, but they give you plenty of notice of what to expect, you must have spoken to people who've been on jury service so should have known about the seemingly unstructured nature of the system. You need to put all important stuff on hold, and be prepared to be either totally engrossed or bored silly.  Take a book or your knitting.  :) :) :) :)

[OllieC]

You're lucky - they kept me hanging around for 10 months! The whole thing is stupidly inefficient - a working day in the court is 6 1/2 hours including a lunch break, so they actually do 5 1/2 hours work. That's half of one of my days!

I met 3 groups of defendants during my time milling about outside the courts. These were:
-Career criminals who saw it as part of the job & couldn't wait to get back to work
-Idiots who were already remorseful
-People who had been the victim of unfortunate timing & intelligence free systems that the police have to follow.

Idiots & innocents were being punished simply by being there, criminals were being slightly inconvenienced. It's crazy.

[ACE]

I have just realised this is in the wrong section. Sorry


But I got discharged today, a fiver a day for meals, but no wages as I am not earning anything this week, just planting, potting, and nursery work which I will get paid for when the plants are sold. Unfair or what. I still have to make up the lost time as I also have deadlines to meet and the weather was good all the time which would have helped as some of our garden show props are too big to build indoors now the poly is getting filled up.