At BRRT we know that being called for Jury  Service, while an important civic responsibility,  can be a serious inconvenience and even a threat  to your livelihood.

CAN I GET OUT OF JURY SERVICE?

Possibly... but first, you should consider whether you really want to. Serving on a jury is an important civic duty that assists in the functioning of our criminal justice system, which is itself a cornerstone of our democratic society. Jury service can be quite interesting, eye-opening, even rewarding. You will almost certainly meet, see and learn about people and things that are different to your usual scope of experience. You will see the criminal courts and the law itself in operation from the closest possible perspective – which is about as close as most people will ever want to get – and next time you watch a media report, or even a TV show or movie, about a court case you will have a better idea of what is actually going on.

However, as noble and useful as jury service is, at BRRT we know that for some people it can cause genuine hardship and expense. We get many enquiries from people wanting to know whether they can get out of jury service. These enquiries come from all sorts of people, from self-employed sole-traders whose businesses could not survive in their absence, to carers who have sole responsibility for someone’s day to day needs.

The answer is often “yes”, some people can avoid jury service, where they have a good reason and we have assisted a number of clients to make successful applications to be exempted or excused.

There are several points in the process of being selected as a juror at which you can be deemed ineligible, exempted, or excused.

 Firstly, some people are ineligible to serve as jurors. They are:

Persons ineligible to serve as jurors

1   The Governor.

2   A judicial officer.

3.   A coroner

4   A member or officer of the Executive Council.

5   A member of the Legislative Council or Legislative Assembly.

6   Officers and other staff of either or both of the Houses of     Parliament.

7   An Australian lawyer.

8   A person employed or engaged (except on a casual or voluntary basis) in the public sector in law enforcement, criminal investigation, the provision of legal services in criminal cases, the administration of justice or penal administration.

9   The Ombudsman and a Deputy Ombudsman.

10   A person who at any time has been a judicial officer or a coroner, police officer, Crown Prosecutor, Public Defender, Director or Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions or Solicitor for Public Prosecutions.

11   A person who is unable to read or understand English.

12   A person who is unable, because of sickness, infirmity or disability, to discharge the duties of a juror.

Note. Other persons are ineligible because of the Jury Exemption Act 1965 of the Commonwealth.

Notices

First you will receive a notice that you have been put on the jury roll. This does not mean you will be called to serve on a jury, but it means you could be called anytime in the next 3 years. This is the time to apply for an exemption, if you are eligible.

If you are eligible you can still apply to be excused. This is done by applying to the NSW Sheriff (the address details will be on your jury Notice). The Sheriff may excuse persons from jury service before being summoned as follows:

(1) The sheriff may, at any time before a person on a jury roll or supplementary jury roll is required by summons to attend for jury service, excuse the person from attending for jury service if the person shows good cause to be excused from attending for jury service because of any matter of special importance or any matter of special urgency.

(2) A person may be excused under this section for the whole or any part of the period during which the person may be summoned to attend for jury service because of the person being included on a jury roll.

(3) A person does not have good cause to be excused under this section on the ground that the person is entitled as of right to be exempted from serving as a juror if the person was entitled, but without reasonable excuse failed, to claim an exemption under section 13.

(4) The sheriff may require a person to verify a request to be excused under this section by statutory declaration.

(5) If the sheriff excuses a person from attending for jury service for any period under this section, the sheriff is to make a record of that fact.

There are also people who have the right to seek exemption from Jury service, as follows:

Schedule 3 Persons who have a right to claim exemption

1   Clergy.

2   Vowed members of any religious order.

3   Persons practising as dentists.

4   Persons practising as pharmacists.

5   Persons practising as medical practitioners.

6   Mining managers and under-managers of mines.

7   A person employed or engaged (except on a casual or voluntary basis) in the provision of fire, ambulance, rescue, or other emergency services, whether or not in the public sector.

8   Persons who are at least 70 years old.

9   Pregnant women.

10   A person who has the care, custody and control of children under the age of 18 years (other than children who have ceased attending school), and who, if exempted, would be the only person exempt under this item in respect of those children.

11   A person who resides with, and has full-time care of, a person who is sick, infirm or disabled.

12   A person who resides more than 56 kilometres from the place at which the person is required to serve.

13   A person who:

(a)  within the 3 years that end on the date of the person’s claim for exemption, attended court in accordance with a summons and served as a juror, or

(b)  within the 12 months that end on the date of the person’s claim for exemption, attended court in accordance with a summons and who was prepared to, but did not, serve as a juror.

14   A person who is entitled to be exempted under section 39 on account of previous lengthy jury service.

There are also persons who are disqualified from jury service:

Schedule 1 Persons disqualified from serving as jurors

1   A person who at any time within the last 10 years in New South Wales or elsewhere has served any part of a sentence of imprisonment (not being imprisonment merely for failure to pay a fine).

2   A person who at any time within the last 3 years in New South Wales or elsewhere has been found guilty of an offence and detained in a detention centre or other institution for juvenile offenders (not being detention merely for failure to pay a fine).

3   A person who is currently bound by an order made in New South Wales or elsewhere pursuant to a criminal charge or conviction, not including an order for compensation, but including the following:

(a)  a parole order, a community service order, an apprehended violence order and an order disqualifying the person from driving a motor vehicle,

(b)  an order committing the person to prison for failure to pay a fine,

(c)  a recognizance to be of good behaviour or to keep the peace, a remand in custody pending trial or sentence and a release on bail pending trial or sentence.

Summons

If you are called for jury service you will receive a Summons. Failure to comply with the summons is an offence and fines exceed $1500.

If you are eligible, not entitled to claim an exemption, not disqualified and not excused before a Summons is issued to you, you may still apply to be excused after you receive the Summons. Again, this is done by making a written application to the Sheriff (the address will be on your jury summons).

38   Person summoned for jury service may be excused before or at trial or inquest

(1) A person may be excused for good cause from attending at a court or coronial inquest in pursuance of a summons:

(a)  by the sheriff, at any time before the day on which the person’s attendance is required or on that day at any time before the commencement of the trial or inquest at which the person may be selected as a juror, or

(b)  by that court or the coroner holding that inquest, at any time on or after that day, notwithstanding that the sheriff did not excuse the person for that cause.

(2) A person does not have good cause to be excused under subsection (1) on the ground that the person is entitled as of right to be exempted from serving as a juror if the person was entitled, but without reasonable excuse failed, to claim exemption pursuant to section 13.

(3) A person may be excused under subsection (1) for the whole or any part of the time that the person’s attendance is required.

(4) The sheriff may require a person to verify a request to be excused under subsection (1) (a) by statutory declaration.

(5) A court or coroner may require a person to make any request to be excused under subsection (1) (b) on oath.

(6) If a person is excused under subsection (1) (b), the panel and the card relating to that person are to be clearly marked accordingly and the card kept apart from the cards relating to other persons on that panel.

(7) Before the selection of the jury at a criminal trial, the judge must, subject to the regulations:

(a)  direct the person prosecuting for the Crown to inform the jurors on the panel of the nature of the charge and the identity of the accused and of the principal witnesses to be called for the prosecution, and

(b)  call on the jurors on the panel to apply to be excused if they consider that they are not able to give impartial consideration to the case.

(8) Before the selection of the jury at a civil trial, the judge must, subject to the regulations:

(a)  direct the parties to the proceedings to inform the jurors on the panel of the nature of the action and the identity of the parties and of the principal witnesses to be called by the parties, and

(b)  call on the jurors on the panel to apply to be excused if they consider that they are not able to give impartial consideration to the case.

(9) Before the selection of the jury at a coronial inquest, the coroner must, subject to the regulations:

(a)  direct the person assisting the coroner to inform the jurors on the panel of the nature of the inquest and of the principal witnesses to be called, and

(b)  call on the jurors on the panel to apply to be excused if they consider that they are not able to give impartial consideration to the matter.

(10) The identity of a person who is a principal witness must not be disclosed under subsection (7) (a), (8) (a) or (9) (a) if the person is a witness who is included in a witness protection program:

(a)  within the meaning of the Witness Protection Act 1995, or

(b)  conducted by the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory under a complementary witness protection law within the meaning of the Witness Protection Act 1995.

(11) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to:

(a)  the directions and the calling on jurors under subsections (7)–(9), and

(b)  the informing and the excusing of jurors under those subsections.

Attending at Court

If, after receiving a Summons, you make an application to be excused, you often will not receive a reply before the day you are scheduled to attend court. You must attend at Court regardless.

The jury Summons will have a phone number to call the day before you are due to attend so that you can find out if you are required. When you call, you may be told then that your application to be excused has been granted. Or you may just hear a recorded message stating that you should attend.

Unless specifically excused, you must attend at Court in answer to the jury Summons. Failure to do so is an offence and fines exceed $1500.

When you attend Court, you can make or renew your application to be excused. Do this by speaking to the Sheriff’s officer in charge on the day. It is always possible that you may not be required and may be sent home either to return the next day, or to await another Summons in due course. Being excused from a specific Summons does not excuse you generally and you remain available (and likely) to receive another Summons.

If you are placed onto a jury panel for a specific case, the judge will tell you in general terms what the case is about and how long it is likely to take. The judge will ask you if there is any reason you cannot serve on the jury for that case. You should speak up at that point if you have a good reason – for example if it is a drugs case and you had a relative die from a drug overdose and you therefore don’t think you can be objective, then say so. The judge will generally discharge you and you will go back into the jury pool to await allocation to another case.

If you are selected on the panel and have no reason to seek a discharge from the judge, then the defence or prosecution lawyers may still challenge you ask that you be removed from the jury. If this happens, again you will go back into the pool to await allocation to another case.

If you are chosen on a jury and the case proceeds, there are strict and important rules governing the behaviour of jurors. The presiding judge and the Sheriff’s officer will explain these to you.

We can assist you with an application to be excused from jury service; contact BRRT on 9542-3255 or email info@brrt.net.au

How much will I get paid as a juror?

 Jury Regulation 2010

Schedule 1 Jury service allowances

Part 1 Attendance allowance

Part 2 Travelling allowance

On each day that a person is in attendance for jury service, the person is entitled to be paid as follows for one journey each way between the place of residence of that person, as shown on the jury roll, and the court or coronial inquest attended:

(a)  for a journey of not more than 14 kilometres—$4.30 each way,

(b)  for a journey of more than 14 kilometres but not more than 100 kilometres—30.70 cents per kilometre each way,

(c)  for a journey of 100 kilometres or more—$30.70 each way.

Part 3 Refreshment allowance

If a person serving as a juror is released by the judge or coroner during a luncheon adjournment, the juror is entitled to be paid a refreshment allowance of $6.60, but only if the juror does not accept any refreshment provided free of charge.