The RANT thread (often contains fruity language)

[Bledlow]

Perhaps not too late for me then. Not been called yet.

[ian]

Me neither. My wife has been called twice, the first time she was sent home, the second time five days, a combination of boredom and a very unpleasant case which she wasn't supposed to tell me about, so quite obviously didn't.

[Jaded]

Me not either.

Which means I’ll get invited next week, I imagine.

[hellymedic]

They called me.
I said I'd need wheelchair access, taxi fares and a pusher.
They decided that was too much trouble.

[Jaded]

and yet, you'd make an ideal juror.

Was this before the DDA and Equalities Act?

[Kim]

*snorks*

[hellymedic]

and yet, you'd make an ideal juror.

Was this before the DDA and Equalities Act?

I don't think so.

I can't remember exactly when this was but maybe 3 years ago.

[hellymedic]

Seems it was March 2015.

I have today received another confirmation of my call-up for Jury Service on 23 March 2015 but have, as yet received no confirmation that I am to be excused, following our phone conversation on Monday 9 March 2015.

Please confirm that I have been excused, as the Court cannot provide staff for my needs.

I don't usually delete emails

[phantasmagoriana]

Jury service citations seem much more common in Scotland (I assume it's to do with the smaller population and larger jury). A couple of months back, 3 out of the 6 people in my office (including me) had citations to attend within a month of each other.

[Jaded]

Lawless lot up there!

[citoyen]

a very unpleasant case which she wasn't supposed to tell me about, so quite obviously didn't.

The one time I was called up, I also got a very unpleasant case. As if the case itself weren't bad enough, there was the fact that it brought out the worst in some of my fellow jurors. Idiots and animals.

I went along with it because I thought it might be an interesting experience, but if I ever get called up again, I'll try to get out of it.

[ian]

Yes, there was apparently a lot of sitting around being bored while lawyers thrashed out their details, and then the case itself, it was hard to find much sympathy for anyone involved, and it was quite unpleasant in nature, and the jury, it seemed, was mostly focused not on the matters of guilt or innocence, but how to get things over with as quickly as possible.

[Ham]

Glad to hear others have never Had The Calling, too. I thought my escape was that I had got onto the Wrong Sort of List through....stuff. Who knows, I might have done that as well, anyhow.

[barakta]

I've never been called.

[Mrs Pingu]

My 2 previous times when I actually attended (I got off either once or perhaps twice by having work trips and a tender) were relatively minor ned stuff. Sitting there wasting your life listening to their bullshit excuses and then having to listen to the shit your jurors come out with is not an experience anyone should have to go through twice. Last time was the Sherriff court, this time the High court so more chance of unpleasantness.

I got a high up at work to sign a letter to say I'm far too indispensable (yes, I know I'm not) to be off on holiday for 2 weeks and then immediately off again for a week or more. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The paperwork says if I get excused I *will* get another citation in the next 12 months, but with a bit of luck it won't start on a day I will have jet lag. This time I'm going to keep a record of when I get cited, I'm sure it's barely 5 yrs since the last time I attended but I couldn't find any info at work.

[Paul]

Never been called. There was a time when lawyers were exempt, but not any longer (see various stories of judges being summoned as jurors in cases they were hearing).

Maybe I’m just undesirable.

(I did get a first for my essay on why the jury system was not fit for purpose.)

[fuzzy]

Not been called either but, I suppose only being eligible for 5 years makes it hardly surprising.

[matthew]

Not been called either but, I suppose only being eligible for 5 years makes it hardly surprising.

"Your Honour, I need to be excused on the grounds I know the defendants."

"And just how do you know them Fuzzy?"

"I was the arresting officer before his previous stint at Hmp"...

[fuzzy]

Not been called either but, I suppose only being eligible for 5 years makes it hardly surprising.

"Your Honour, I need to be excused on the grounds I know the defendants."

"And just how do you know them Fuzzy?"

"I was the arresting officer before his previous stint at Hmp"...

Or-
I used to work with them 

[Ginger Cat]

I called into the local Golden Arches yesterday*

A long row of SUVs, all queuing at the "drive thru" and idling- you could taste the diesel fumes. Uuuuugh!

I have never in my life used a "drive thru" (Drive Thru- why???) and I really HATE idling engines. It was all I could do not to remonstrate with them.

So I snuck quickly into the place, did what I needed to do and got on my way.

Grrrrrrrrr.

*I wasn't getting any of their "food," I was busting to use the toilet and it was the only one for miles around

GC

[Cudzoziemiec]

In a similar vein, I've really never got the idea of petrol stations selling fruit and veg.

[Feanor]

In a similar vein, I've really never got the idea of petrol stations selling fruit and veg.

Oh, that's just a natural consequence of the Universal Law of Maximising Inconvenience.
( Like Entropy and all that.. )

You rock up at a petrol station, wanting only to pay for your fuel, and are stuck behind a mile-long queue of people doing a weekly shopping.
And there's only one checkout operator.
Eventually, you get to the front.

"Would you like a lottery ticket for tonight?"
No. No, I would not. Thank you.

[Cudzoziemiec]

 

[Pickled Onion]

In a similar vein, I've really never got the idea of petrol stations selling fruit and veg.

It was a bit of a shock touring in Italy this year - petrol stations only sell petrol! No food or drink at all, some don't even sell car things like oil.

On top of that the "convenience" stores shut from 12 to 4 pm. Getting water was a bit tricky until I worked out there are drinking water taps all over the place, and they are marked on open streetmap.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I've never really been that keen on using petrol stations as audax controls or for general cycling snack supplies, either. Which isn't to say I never do it, of course.