Jury Duty

I've been a citizen for < 2 years and already received my first summons. I'm not going to try and get out of it, I'm too curious about the experience. expected to last 2 weeks. I wouldn't be disappointed to be excused, though.

Question for people who have sat through jury duty here, what is it like?
Short trial in my case … the people on the jury with me were pretty easy to get along with.
Only about 1.5 days before we found the guilty bloke “not guilty” on account of the legalities of the situation … you could tell from what wasn’t allowed to be presented to us that the cops had pulled the bloke over without cause they could prove to the judge, so the drugs they found in the car weren’t admissable as evidence, yet they still charged him with dealing despite the amount he had on him being less than the amount which is officially considered ”for selling”. If they’d charged him with possession we’d have found him guilty, but they over-reached despite knowing they couldn’t prove what they were charging the scumbag with …

Was super obvious what had happened, and as a result the judge reminded us that we could only decide based on what was presented to us.

I do remember being pretty bored. One of those 6-week cases would be hard to deal with …
 
Being summoned does not mean you will be on the jury.
First, you have to be vetted by both sides, so you might still, in the end might not be needeed.
They first pick a larger group than 12, to vet.
You are then asked in short, if you have been on any jury in the past few years, and will be given a chance to explain.
If you "pass muster" then you will get narrowed down, till, just before the case starts, you are then empannelled to sit.
You could read up on all the cases in your state, if you do not want to sit, and get to know all the most basic of details, and when asked questions, say you have already have a deep interest in the case.
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Of course, if you have mundane job, and want some "time off" and get paid for it, then jury duty is it.
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Proper name for the first step: "Selection Process".
 
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I got a prospective juror notice for QLD after I had booked an overseas trip worth over 8k
Reply to them, given then the reason that you had already booked the overseas trip - include evidence of OS trip
The same think happened to me in (in NSW) booked a OS trip 1 week prior to the letter arriving.

Replied back - got an waiver.
 
Being summoned does not mean you will be on the jury.
First, you have to be vetted by both sides
Ouch!!

images
 
I've been a citizen for < 2 years and already received my first summons. I'm not going to try and get out of it, I'm too curious about the experience. expected to last 2 weeks. I wouldn't be disappointed to be excused, though.

Question for people who have sat through jury duty here, what is it like?
Depends on the trial which depends on the level of court. I did a month in the Criminal Sittings of the District Court in BNE in the early 90's (1991?). I did a child molestation, a rape and an employee embezzle company funds one.

None of it was pleasant and all of it was fascinating. It's very structured in terms of sitting, breaks and hours. We were sequestered for two nights while one guy (who happened to be related to an infamous juror in the trial of a very high profile QLD politician around the time) stubbornly disagreed with everyone else. Glad I had the experience but wouldn't necessarily want to repeat it.
 
stubbornly disagreed with everyone else.
He definitely watched 12 Angry Men the night before deliberation started 😂

Thanks for sharing. Child abuse stuff is horrid, sorry you have to deal with that case. If I'm selected, I hope it's some white collar stuff.
 
NSW govt website says, juries are less used in civil cases, so less "white collar" crimes sort of stuff.
The Sn**town ones would have been horrible to sit through,
 
Mrscove and I have not been called up.Now that we are in our seventies we have pretty conservative views so we may be unsuitable to be in a jury.
Oh dear, the letter from the NSW office of the Sheriff arrived this week that I have been included on the jury roll for Sydney, run for one year till March 2025 :(
I have read all the posts in this thread to see if I would be able to claim any exemption, and it did not appear there was any for me. I was going to claim on the age ground, but there appears to be no age limit in NSW. The big issue for me is being called for jury duty while travelling. We have a few overseas trips booked this year - one long and two short, plus a few domestic driving trips (short and long trips but no set dates yet). So, I guess when they call me and I am not in Sydney, I will have to tell them that I am travelling? PS - hubby said he worries that he may get the letter as well!
 
Hello

Was wondering if anyone has had to deal with this before. I got a prospective juror notice for QLD after I had booked an overseas trip worth over 8k. The dates clash and I have non refundable tickets. I thought it was a pretty valid reason but apparently not and my excusal was denied! Anyone had any luck reapplying or going in before having to ask the judge on court day?
It might be worth trying to reapply with additional documentation or explanations supporting your situation.
 
@Myrna it may be worth asking to be excused from jury duty if you have planned travel and you can show itinerary or tickets.
 

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