Jury Service - Day Seven

I'm free!!! :o)

After our case finished today, we were officially released so I have completed my first session of Jury Service. I say first as, apparently, there are problems in this area in finding enough eligible and available people to carry out Jury Service. There is always the possibility that I might be called again. But at least if that happens, I'll know what to expect.

As suspected we heard closing arguments and the Judge's summing up today. We retired to consider our verdict and after some discussion (and lunch) we came to a unanimous decision.

Trial by Jury
This experience has re-affirmed my confidence in the system of trial by Jury. In all those I met and talked to, there were only a couple of individuals who did not seem to be taking the jury service as seriously as the rest of us. The majority of people didn't really want to be there but saw it as a civic duty. They did their very best to understand the evidence that was put to them and, using common sense and life experience, came to verdicts that they felt confident and comfortable with.

The thing that did concern me and many of my fellow jurors was the somewhat obvious gaps in evidence for these cases. I have the utmost respect for the police service and am sure that the majority of officers do the very best they can. I do think, however, they are constrained by lack of time and resources, and too much bureacracy and paperwork. Simple things were missed in the three cases in which I was involved. These things may or may not have had an impact on the verdicts that we reached but never-the-less they were missing.

In a way it was sad to say goodbye to my fellow jurors today as we'd spent a fair amount of time in each others company. Overall, I think that this has been a positive experience.