Jury system treats jurors like criminals

 

In June 1999, l broke the law by failing to appear for jury service on the grounds that the jury system treats jurors as criminals.

 

Jurors are:

 

forced to appear like the criminals themselves

forced to set aside a typical 10 days for jury service, a very long time in this day and age

 

I would like to see the jury system reformed. Specific reforms include:

 

no compulsion for citizens to carry out jury service

the right for citizens to nominate a date for jury service that is convenient TO THEM

self-employed people whose livelihood depends on their being able to work should be excluded

longer notice periods should be given, rather than less than one month

the period of jury service should be reduced to a maximum of three days

drug cases should be excluded from those that face a jury- both Simon’s brother and sister were forced to sit on juries relating to possession of drugs. Eliminating such cases would reduce the need for jurors and therefore the need to force citizens to comply to ensure that there are sufficient jurors.

 

This is the first time I have broken the law, but I feel this is an important issue that affects nearly everyone in the UK and beyond since juries systems are commonplace around the globe. I am forced to contribute many thousands of pounds each year to the public purse to fund such systems, and feel that this gives me the right to otherwise be left alone. I face a fine for his non-attendance.

 

Being in the mobile phone industry, I took particular offence at not being able to take his phone with him to the courthouse and stay in touch with my staff and customers in that way.

 

In sum, the jury service is in need of a major overhaul, and by making a stand on this issue, I hope that the jury system will be reevaluated and revised.

 

Author: Simon Buckingham

What do you think?

To make a comment to the author, send e-mail to simon@unorgan.com