Avoiding jury service? Guilty as charged

Jury service may be our civic duty and a cornerstone of our judicial system, but it's far too easy to avoid it – all you need is a good excuse and a tracksuit, argues FIONA GARTLAND

A CENTRAL tenet of a fair judicial system, provided for in the Constitution, is the right to a trial by jury.

In theory, a jury should be representative of society. Drawn from the register of electors, it should provide a defendant with the opportunity to have his or her case heard by a cross-section of society. But it does not. It is too easy to get out of this civic duty. The only people who serve on juries in Ireland are the people who want to serve.

I was summonsed recently to attend the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin as a member of a jury panel. The new building, on Parkgate St, at the edge of the Phoenix Park, has a European feel, vastly different from the labyrinthine Four Courts. I passed through security by showing my letter of summons. No one asked me for identification at any stage.

I joined other potential jurors in a room too small for our number. The county registrar took a roll and roughly a quarter of those called did not respond. Those who did respond had their names and juror numbers entered into a drum. Then we waited. After about an hour, a judge appeared on a television screen and talked us through what would happen. The first defendant entered the witness box, charges were called out and he made his plea.

The judge spoke to us again and warned us not to serve if we were ineligible or disqualified and then read out a list of witnesses in the case and said anyone who knew them, the defendant or who lived in the area where the offence was allegedly committed should not serve. The judge said if anyone had any difficulty with serving, he or she must say so before taking the oath.

The judge explained both the defence and prosecution were entitled to reject seven potential jurors without explanation and could reject any number they wished if they had grounds to do so.

The court registrar then began to draw names from the drum. Some 24 names were called. Two women sitting in front of me exchanged prepared excuses.

“I’m going to say I’m going on holidays on Friday if I get called,” one said. “Well I’m saying I have a medical appointment and I’ve been waiting six months for it,” said the other.

On the screen, those of us who were not selected watched as the jurors were sworn in. At least four people approached the judge to explain her why they could not serve. On each occasion, the judge nodded and accepted their reasons without asking for proof.

Other cases followed the same procedure. Two young men in tracksuits said they had dressed to ensure they wouldn’t be chosen. Both were called to go up to the courtroom and both were rejected by prosecution counsel.

It seemed to me that a well-prepared excuse or very casual dress would be sufficient to extricate anyone from jury duty.

Legislation already offers a way out of jury service for a large section of the population.

As pointed out in the Law Reform Commission’s consultation paper on jury service published last week, those involved in any way with the administration of justice are automatically excluded. This includes gardaí and members of the Defence Forces, prison officers, practising barristers, solicitors, court officers and personnel in Government departments involved in matters of justice or the courts.

Other potential jurors may be excused if they wish under the legislation, including Government officials, people in Holy Orders, aircraft pilots, full-time students, practising doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, vets and chemists. And public servants, including teachers, lecturers and local authority employees, may be excused if their functions cannot be performed by other people.

The legislation – the Jury’s Act 1976 – also allows the county registrar or the trial judge to excuse individuals if satisfied there is “good reason” for doing so. Traditionally, a third of those called for jury duty are excused by right, a third are excused by the registrar or do not show up, and a third do turn up.

In 2008, the Civil Law (Miscellaneous) Act increased the fine for failure to attend for jury duty from €50 to €500, but no one has yet been charged under that legislation.

Even if a person does turn up, in this journalist’s experience it appears relatively easy to avoid actually serving.