not sure as I have never done it yet but I would have thought if you cant sit for long periods then you can be excused with a doctors note !!

I have just spent 4 days hanging around a court doing nothing as they didn't actually have any trials starting (I managed to get myself excused after 4 days on the basis that I go on holiday next week and I work for a very small business that is totally dependent on me). The paperwork that I received (this is the Scottish Court system) had a list of people who are exempt and reasons why you could be excused. Medical reasons were one of the reasons for excusal but only with a medical certificate.

Thank you, i am not sure whether it is better to telephone them up and say about my condition, or just send the form back then wait to see if they need evidence of my back. I am sure they will need evidence at £30 a letter isnt going to be cheap, but got no alternative, i cannot sit in hard seats, i fidget and have to keep moving, and i am sure that would not be acceptable

It's actually a summons to attend for jury service rather than a letter asking you to attend. Failure to reply or to attend without a valid reason can result in you being called up before the Jury Officer to explain your reasoning - unless they've changed the system since I worked in the Court Service department.

However, it may be better first of all to make a quick call and ask to speak to the Jury Summoning Officer as at this stage they have the power to say yes or no to your request to be "excused" from jury service.

If you leave it too late and the file gets passed to the Jury Officer, then that's when it gets harder to be released from your service. By that time, there will be others who have already been released or are ineligible to sit in service so it's more difficult to let people go or remove them from the list as it gets closer to your attendance date.

This doesn't mean to say that you will not be called upon again to sit in the future. The summons' are sent out using data from the jurisdiction electoral rolls. When I was there we worked on an allocated number system such as every 10th name or whatever was designated when we were issued a new electoral list.

Give them a call as soon as you can and if they need a letter from your GP they will ask you for it.

Hi Michelle

I think to get excused for something like oestro arthritis you would need a comprehensive letter explaining how it would impact on your ability to do service.

Even if you do sit, if I remember correctly from when I did it (light years ago!) you are only actually sitting from 10am to noon and 2pm till 4pm, you don't sit for 8 hours continuously at a time or anything like that, it would probably mean too much concentrating. Plenty of time to walk about in the break and also when you go to the Jury Room with the table and chairs in it you can stand up behind your chair move about etc so you can mobilise quite a bit.

Doe

Thanks everyone for your kind replies.

I filled in my form and telephoned the number on the form. I am to be excused on medical grounds, i expressed about the arthritis and sitting, and he said no straight away. I asked if i needed a letter from my GP and he said no. So i have sent my letter back. The man on the phone asked what my juror's number was and that was that. So unless another person thinks different when they receive my return letter, i do not need to do it.

Michelle, by rights the number you telephoned would usually take you through to the Jury Summoning Officer and they should make a note against your name in their file. So it sounds like you're "sorted"

Glad you got it sorted

Thank you guys xx

Hi Derwentrocker...

Just as well.... I was mooching around the web and just noticed this...

Complaint about smelly juror collapses Kingston Oceana murder trial


A murder trial has collapsed after a female juror complained that the man sitting next to her in the court smelled.

The juror in question was spoken to by the court matron about his cleanliness.

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/10476954.Complaint_about_smelly_juror_collapses_Kingston_Oceana_murder_trial/

Just imagine spending two weeks sitting in a smelly court room...

Oh dear not nice, that must have been awful