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I was 19 when called for jury service at the Guildhall (Guildhall was for city cases, Shire Hall for county cases.) Never been called since.

My wife did jury service a long time ago, then for a short time she worked in the magistrates court. When called up again for jury service she didn't have to go as she had an exemption for I think 10 years.

PS, what is the Guildhall used for now? Are the courtrooms still there?

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Nope - but here I am nearly 59 and never been even asked. Gimme a murder trial!

You are really lucky if you get a good case! The waiting around that happens is a pain and sometimes you are chosen to do it and then its cancelled at last minute as the case has either been dropped or they pleaded guilty before hand. Mine was a petty thief who was found not guilty- its really difficult to draw a conclusion cos one minute you think yeah they did it and the next you think they're innocent... needless to say I was the youngest juror that day and I was dreading the one in the dock saying 'no I don't want her' as they can do... I did have unusual coloured hair at the time!!!

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I was 19 when called for jury service at the Guildhall (Guildhall was for city cases, Shire Hall for county cases.) Never been called since.

My wife did jury service a long time ago, then for a short time she worked in the magistrates court. When called up again for jury service she didn't have to go as she had an exemption for I think 10 years.

PS, what is the Guildhall used for now? Are the courtrooms still there?

It is now a museum - I went a few years ago - galleries of justice. They did a mock court case... it was strange being back in there as this is where I was sent!

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It is now a museum - I went a few years ago - galleries of justice. They did a mock court case... it was strange being back in there as this is where I was sent!

Hi Maraig,

The Shire Hall is a museum, it's the Guildhall that I was wondering about.

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We never got called for duty when we lived in the UK. But now we're over the pond we've been called several times. We can't serve though, cos we're aliens!

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Hi Maraig,

The Shire Hall is a museum, it's the Guildhall that I was wondering about.

Sorry - you are right of course!!! Where is the guildhall.... I started at the new crown court before having to go to the shire hall

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...now we're over the pond we've been called several times. We can't serve though, cos we're aliens!

Pretty funny - I was called several times when I was still an alien - so never had to serve. Since becoming a citizen I have never been called! Go figure!

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Been called on once when I was in California, being an alien, didn't have to serve.

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I did my first ever stint (Coroners Court) last December, found it quite fascinating.

Never realised that at the Coroners Court the jury were allowed to question the witnesses.

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  • 12 years later...

The subject recently came up somewhere else, but I've still never been on a jury...or even been asked.

 

I've checked on Govt websites and you are still eligible until age 75...although you can ask to be excused when you're over 70.

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I was called for jury service in Cambridge about 40 years ago.  I was paid £19 expenses but the day was spent mainly sitting in a room with 11 other people.  When we finally got called into the court, we sat down and listened to the outline of the case (a theft) but the defendant pleaded guilty so we weren’t needed after all.  I’m pleased we didn’t have to make a decision as I can always see both sides of an argument and if the evidence wasn’t absolutely clear, I would have found it very difficult (and I always try to see the best in people anyway .....)

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I was once called to Jury service and was sworn in on two occasions in the first week, (both short trials).with only a couple of days to the end of my two week stint, I was called in to a fraud trial. The judge (Ellis) said to us that this case could go to a couple of weeks, so if any of us had holidays or medical appointments, we were to say so before being sworn in.

All the jurors were OK so we were duly sworn in. The trial went on for 9 1/2 weeks! 

After the trial the judge, after thanking us and apologising, made an order that none of us could be called again for 10 years. Never got called back to Crown Court again.

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I’ve never been on a jury but I was once a member of the judiciary so I’ve seen it from the other side. For 25 years I was a General Commissioner of Taxes and sat on tribunals to hear and decide on tax appeals. It was an interesting appointment and I generally sat for a half day each month. This could be in Newark, Grantham or Retford and occasionally Boston. Local background knowledge was often useful in making decisions and I got to discover who the local tax defrauders were! There’s lots of interesting stories to tell but I had to sign an official declaration of secrecy. The Inland Revenue have a vast investigation department that we hear little of but they had been known to go into pubs and eavesdrop on conversations. It’s amazing how people like to brag about how they fiddled their taxes. I did get a letter of thanks and a 25 year certificate when I retired but although I could claim expenses, which I never did, there was no remuneration for my  service. I look on it as my  contribution to public service!

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I was volunteered to sit on a Coroners Jury by my boss, the Personnel Manager (HR in today’s language) when I was in my early 20s.  Police had come into my place of work, looking for volunteers.  It was an interesting experience and I was only required for a few hours. There are only 2 cases I can recall after all these years, one was concerning the death of a young boy who’d jumped onto the back of a dustbin lorry, he didn’t fall into it but was run over and killed when the lorry reversed.   The other case was about an old lady who’d been knocked down on a pedestrian crossing.  

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