Jury Service

I have spent a lot of this last week sitting in a very large room with about 50 strangers and waiting.  Sometimes my name is called and other days I just sit as though I am (in the play) 'Waiting for Godot'.  I am allowed to leave the room for an hour at lunch time and at the end of the day but otherwise I stay put, reading, texting friends or talking to the person sitting next to me.

This may seem relaxing to many of you running around but actually it is tedious and more tiring than being busy.  I am, as you may have gathered from the title, currently on Jury Service, and at this precise moment have been sitting here for two hours hoping that my name may be called for the next trial.

The envelope arrived requesting my attendance back in January.  When I saw the official brown envelope my first reaction was “What have I done?” Fortunately I had not been speeding but my reaction was similar to getting a fine!  Six weeks later I have many friends to thank for sorting out my youngest after school every day and I am trying to be more organised than is natural for me, but I am making it to court every day on time and still managing to do a few of my chores at home.

Having spent my first day doing nothing except read a book I can admit to be more than a little unimpressed.  The food in the canteen makes school dinners look Michelin starred, and the day really dragged.  However on my second day I was called to trial.

It was only when I walked into the courtroom that I really felt that what I was doing was important.  There is a true sense of responsibility in being a juror which I had only vaguely thought about before that moment.  The court is very imposing and as you are sworn in there is also a sense of history in the way our judicial system is run.

After hearing the evidence there is deliberation to agree on a verdict.  It is a weird feeling to be in a room with eleven other people who may be strangers but with whom you feel an affinity.  Everyone is in the same position and everyone wants to make sure the verdict they agree on is the correct one for their case.

As I approach the end of my first week I recognise a few faces and even know some names.  People are talking more openly about themselves or their lives outside, and there is a feeling that you genuinely know the people.  However at the end of next week when I finish I will leave for the last time and probably never seen any of them again.  We will all return to our normal lives with the freedom to go in and out whenever we want, but knowing we have done our civic duty and possibly having enjoyed it more than we thought.