The Injustice of Being a Juror- Against Jury Service

 

'URGENT FAX MESSAGE

 

TO:                   Jury Summoning Officer

 

FROM:              Mr. Simon Buckingham

 

Please note that I will NOT be attending jury service today because 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- my brother and sister were both 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.

 

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 am the founder and Director of Mobile Lifestreams Limited, a Newbury-based company that is in the process of rolling out more than 50 mobile phone related Internet sites. The jury service date was particularly inconvenient since the re-publication of the company's first book as 'YES2SMS' was scheduled for the day of the summons, along with editorial meetings to finalize the copy for 'Data on GPRS', the next book. Dozens of orders from the company's hundreds of past customers were expected to be received on that day.

 

Being in the mobile phone industry, I took particular offence at not being able to take my phone with me 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 service system will be reevaluated and revised.

 

Sincerely

 

Simon Buckingham'

 

 

I had written and sent this letter in mid 1999. I was immediately summoned to appear before a judge. I left a letter with instructions for running the company should I have been imprisoned, as the law for 'Contempt of Court' allowed. I was summoned to appear first thing in the morning and I made the 20 mile trip to Reading very early that morning and walked around the town and had several coffees before going to the court. I went into the courthouse but noticed that my case was not on the formal agenda. I went to a juror reception area and I could a see a group of jurors all being prepared to enter a court. A notice on the door told me only jurors were allowed beyond that point, but I went in anyway. They all laughed nervously and leaned forward at the same time in unison to something that a court officer was saying- no doubt a standard joke about not snoring in the courtroom or similar. I could see immediately how people tend to deal with issues such as jury service- they do their time and do not speak up about the inconvenience.

 

I was ushered through some back doors to the court room by a jury officer. The doors were incredibly heavy and I remember thinking that whoever had built that building had a complete disregard for people such as the officers who had to use those doors. Perhaps that was not an accident to remind people of their modern place in the world- the days when such institutions served the people are long gone.

 

In the courtroom were just myself, the officer, one other person on the other side of the court observing and the judge himself. It was a large modern courtroom and there was a considerable distance between he and I- he was in an elevated position. The court was closed and basically empty which I thought was a great shame since I would have liked to have shared my views more widely in an effort to try to wake up the general public and get them to think for themselves and act in an independent manner.

 

But the judge was male, old and posh, thereby conforming to the stereotypical judge that one would expect. I was told to stand when the judge came in and refer to him as 'Your Honour'- I did the former but not the later- a man in a wig and a red cape does not confer honour ability. I was not represented by a lawyer although I had been advised when summoned that this was strongly recommended. I did not feel the need for such measures since I knew my own reasons clearly in my own head and believed in them totally.

 

The judge clearly had a copy of my fax in his possession since he read from it- he seemed surprised more than anything at my position- it seemed clear from his behaviour that this had not happened before. The mere fact that the courtroom was empty also showed that this was not a regular occurrence. I nodded and confirmed the various points as they were being made.

 

After several minutes in which I made no new points or speeches and merely confirmed that I believed what he was saying, I was told that I was in contempt of court and that he had the option to imprison me or fine me up to '2000. He asked me if I was economically sound and I confirmed with a small smile that I could afford a fine. He fined me the sum of '500. We then all rose and I left the courtroom the same way as I had come with the same lady.

 

When we got back downstairs a telephone call was waiting for the lady and she told me that I had to go back to the courtroom again. This was slightly worrying and disconcerting. When I arrived back it was the same set up again and the judge told me that he needed to inform me that if I failed to pay the fine, I would be imprisoned for two weeks. Clearly since he was not used to people actually standing up for themselves in this way, he had omitted to tell me what the full sentence could be. That was that and I was back through the heavy doors again and out into the fresh air.

 

I paid the fine promptly- I only had 14 days to pay and the paperwork took the best part of a week to arrive. I did not want to make another stand and go to prison for a fortnight, although I have sometimes regretted this in the several years that have passed by since.

 

As yet, I have not been called up for jury service again, but if I were, then I would refuse in exactly the same way.

 

 

Author: Simon Buckingham

What do you think?

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