Jury Service – 14th to 24th May 2012
A few weeks ago, I received a summons to complete my second batch of Jury Service at Reading Crown Court – my first time was in 2004.
Reading Crown Court (Wikipedia)
Whilst I’m clearly not at liberty to discuss any of the cases covered, I can reveal that there was a large amount of time waiting around for trials to begin.
Below are a few of my tweets during my time on Jury Service:
Overall, despite all the waiting around, I found the whole experience enjoyable. I met a number of interesting people (Jamie, Liz, Debra, Stuart, Obed etc) from all walks of life and it was great to play a small role in the British legal system.
On my final full day of Jury Service, whilst sitting and waiting in the Jury Lounge, I wrote the following:
The trial of waiting
A murmur of chatter fills the room
All ages sit with varying degrees of patience
Some pass the hours with head buried in a good book
Older folk tend to chat
Youngsters remain largely in their own world – attached to technology
A few try to work, tapping away on laptops
All wait for inevitable news to arrive
The Jury Officer duly appears, a young man whose presence cheers the room
Sometimes he brings no news
Other times his telling of cancelled trials is greeted with silent glee
In silence the masses sit
A list of names is read aloud
‘No longer needed’, the lucky few collect their meagre possessions and depart
Eventually, names are announced for a new trial
Mobiles are placed in lockers in silence
Those selected depart to play their role in English justice
For those who remain the trial of waiting continues
A Few Ramblings... 
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