[GF05]

I've got Jury Duty in a few weeks, i've heard it can be pretty boring, anyone else ever done it?.

[Adam]

I've got Jury Duty in a few weeks, i've heard it can be pretty boring, anyone else ever done it?.

You are right, it is boring! Lets hope its not a long case.

[MK Chris]

I'd LOVE to do jury duty - I think it'd be fascinating. Anyway, surely whether or not it's boring depends on the case in question? I'm extremely interested in criminology so I can't think that I would be bored by it.

[Walter Sobchak]

if you believe in justice, then move abroad, cus you wont see it in a jury room!

[Quincy]

at least you get two weeks off work

[gbm]

I sadly am not old enough yet

[Boboff]

you have the personality already though

[DemonHorse]

at least you get two weeks off work

and paid time off too... in a fashion.

[MK Chris]

if you believe in justice, then move abroad, cus you wont see it in a jury room!

In what way do you mean? As in the number of convictions?

I think it's practically impossible to wrongly convict someone now - it's bloody hard to convict someone who is actually guilty.

[DemonHorse]

Legal loopholes suck...

[MK Chris]

There should literally be no legal loopholes, but the fact is that if there weren't, defence barristers would not get any money because far, far more cases would be open and shut cases.

[Yudster]

My sister in law is a barrister, it annoys the heck out of me the way she gets paid shedloads of money spercifically to get guilty people acquitted. In fact, it annoys me so much, I don't think I can talk about it any more because just thinking about it is winding me up.

[Boboff]

It's just repressed anger from the fact that she got to marry your brother and you didn't, nothing to do with the law, if she were a baker then Lardy Cake would anger you.... promise !

The Law is an Ass, kill or be killed, your choice, their ain't no fairness in the shot old world, live with it........ off to self harm now, excuse me

[Yudster]

Actually, I suppose she is technically my Sister Out-Law, because they aren't married.......now THAT'S ironic.

[Walter Sobchak]

if you believe in justice, then move abroad, cus you wont see it in a jury room!

In what way do you mean? As in the number of convictions?

I think it's practically impossible to wrongly convict someone now - it's bloody hard to convict someone who is actually guilty.

The principle of a Jury is good, on paper.
One of the problems is that members of the Jury have a limited time to attend, this is because they have other matters in their normal lives, for example if they have a small business which relies on them, attending Jury service can impose major problems, so all they want is for it to end, so they can return to their lives, they have little interest in the case and follow the person that usually overrides others by their demeanour, this is another problem, the person that controls the jury (often because they have some training in public speaking, for example have been to a public school and been head of such things as debating committees) convinces others to follow his lead, of course no one can know whther he has an ulterior motive which is another problem.
Generalisation - if the person in the dock is 'different' to the jurors, for example is muslim when the jurors are predominantly christian, black when the jurors are white, may be the way he/she dresses for example, or the amount of tattoos or piercings he/she has, anything that makes people fearful of them, with or without reason.
This can also work in reverse, with people making a concerted effort to be PC, a guilty man/woman may be thought to have suffered in society and should be treated more leniently.
Another problem is that often the court papers are left with the jury and the person that is 'running the show' reads them and explains to the less intelligent what the papers say, in their own words. these papers are sometimes way over most peoples heads so they will pretend to understand and therefore can be manipulated into believing what they are told.
If the Jury does run 'over time' their are ofetn meetings between groups of jurors, cliques are established, this is illegal?
So, whats the alternative? No Idea, sorry!

As for wrongful convictions they happen all the time, if forensic science has been used (which usually isn't the case, because it is very expensive) even that can be wrong, I was told once that a certain DNA procedure was so accurate that it could filter out 1 person from 1 billion (I found out later this was wrong anyhow!) that doesn't mean that that 1 person is 1 billion people away from the other, they could be standing next to each other! but it is taken as absolute even when other evidence suggests an impossiblity that the defendant could be guilty.

[Mafro]

Is it true that you are not allowed to refuse jury duty?

[Yudster]

Technically, every citizen has the duty to provide this service when asked. Refusal is technically an offence, punishable by law - although I am not aware of anyone actually being prosecuted for refusing jury duty. When I was called, I explained that it was not possible for me due to family committments - I did offer to attend if the court could arrange for someone to take over the school run for me, but they understood, and said I could serve during the school holidays. At which point I told them how brilliant I thought it was that the court provided childcare for people like me in the school holidays - which was when they finally understood that they were being silly, and have left me alone ever since!

[Boboff]

They understood women with children are too fluffy headed to be trusted to carry justice, like big bags of cotton wool, floating on a sea of indifference, and inward focus.

[Yudster]

Well you know me, they don't come any more empty headed and unfocussed than I do!

[Boboff]

Well you know me, they don't come any more empty headed and unfocussed than I do!

Go flip your Bin, What's Fowlers niggles, and didn't Sack of Shite come to your defence ?

Still hurt about the email comment thing though.....

You missed a really interesting hour with Aled, to start with it took 5 minutes to get a question up, my particular highlights, which have been censored from the transcript were when Aled refused to tell me his favorite porn site, and then accused me of being Naughty, me Naughty ! Excellent

[Yudster]

Cool, I'd have liked to have seen that! And my email comments were only for effect, you know I can't resist a dramatic opportunity. And what have you done with Rab, he has disappeared! I was just getting to like him too, he was fun!

[Boboff]

Someone reporting to be bricktop was in the chat room half an hour before Aled, said his usual, when's the poof turning up rubbish, then thankfully left, or was barred or something.

I hate Him and Rab, not nice, the amount of hatred and "injection" based references are from a world a long way from mine.

Oh, and ditto on the comments.

So jury duty then ? When should we be able to insist on a level of IQ above 100 to permit people too serve, and only have accountants, on financial type cases ?

Daft the current system

[Yudster]

Re Rab - am I going to have to start pointing out to you of all people when I am being ironic?!

Andf yes, the current jury system is deeply flawed. It ought to be more discerning - but who would you trust to make the call on who should and who shouldn't?

[Boboff]

We could do it ?

[Boboff]

But Adam would be better.... lock down coming up any minute !!1!

No seriously, I think an IQ based system of evaluation would be suitable, as well as some basic phycometric testing.

or just have middle class male whites from the shires whose pareants are still married.


( - I know thats offensive, it's irony )