Neil Littman recounts his recent experience of being a juror for a criminal case at Wood Green Crown Court

Wood Green Crown Court and (inset) Neil Littman

When an official looking envelope with HM Courts printed on the front arrived a few months ago, I guessed it was my call-up for jury service.

I had done it once before nearly 40 years ago when times were very different; no mobile phones, CCTV, or forensic science breakthroughs such as DNA analysis. When I subsequently arrived at Wood Green Crown Court a few weeks later, I overheard one juror say they thought they had more chance of winning the lottery.

This year also seems to be the year of the jury on our TV screens – one a fictional case set in Australia and the other based on a real-life case retried over four episodes by not one, but two juries, to see if they would reach the same verdict. Both were well made, though not particularly credible.

Fortunately, my recent experience serving as a juror at Wood Green Crown Court was nowhere near as dramatic, but was nonetheless very interesting and a demonstration of why I think the process is important for a democratic society; upholding values such as civic duty and making responsible decisions. Nowadays technology and other processes play a much bigger part in crime detection, but the jury still has a very important role to play.

A useful piece of advice I received from a friend who recently completed jury service, was to make sure you have a good book to read, because “there is a lot of hanging around”. You can get called up to be on a jury as part of a ‘pool’ of 18 and then be no longer required after they select twelve people from a box with the names on cards randomly called out by the court clerk.

Once through the airport-style security first thing on Monday morning, 180 of us (enough for ten trials) gathered in a waiting area which began to resemble a cross between an airport lounge and a shared workspace. The ushers told us it was going to be “like being on holiday but going nowhere”.

We were briefed regarding what to expect during our time at court, what we could and could not discuss, and how to claim expenses (including childcare allowances) and an apology for inconveniencing those of us losing work or income. We were also given good advice on the process we were expected to be part of.

There has been a massive backlog of court cases since before the pandemic (and staff shortages) so the courts are still playing catch-up. A nice surprise was a canteen serving decent food and coffee at half the price of the local high street!

After a few days, I eventually served on a jury trying a case dating back to 2020, which was unusual due to the non-appearance of the defendant who had been arrested carrying a knife and an axe in the street during lockdown. The trial lasted two days, after which we returned a guilty verdict and sentencing took place immediately afterwards, despite the accused being absent.

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