Carers UK Forum

The letter arrived today and I've got 7 days to complete & return the form.

While I feel honoured to be asked, and I believe trial by jury is important, I can't leave my caree on his own and there aren't suitable & available services to replace what I do. Nor can I fit what needs to be done around office hours.

I've spoken to a legal worker in folkestone and she says even if I spell out my reasons as strongly as poss I've still got a 50% chance of not being excused jury service. YOU can only get one deferrment in a lifetime. I really want to go for being excused as my caree is unlikely to recover any time in the next 50 years.

The local disability rights & carers advice centre isn't picking up the dratted phone, nor are they returning calls.

Caree gets middle rate care high mobility DLA, and IB (medically retired from civil service) I get CA. No friends or family available to help out. 5 intervals of medication during daytime, can't manage blister packs of tablets on his own, risk of falling, diabetes, moderate-severe ME, difficulty remembering, completely deaf in one ear, incontinent, can't dress, undress or bathe unaided, loses track of time during migraine attacks, has to eat because diabetic (and tablets dangerous without food) but he forgets if not prompted, can't prepare meal unaided, and prone to leaving cooker on.

I need help with the wording, please. ASAP.

Hi phone up the court and ask for an exemption form. They are usually quite helpful. Explain your situation as they don't know anything about your circumstances, your just a name picked of the electoral roll by a computer. If you contact CAB they will do all of this for you. There is no way you can attend Jury service for an unspecified length of time and leave your caree's life at risk. Hope this helps a little.

Dear sir/ madam

I have received a letter from your office today, Dated *******2008.

Due to the fact that iam a sole carer for my husband who has a number of severe disabilities, I ask that i may be excused from jury duty on this occasion, Please could you forward to me all the relevant paperwork that i must complete and return, so as to aid the court to confirm my position.

Kind Regards


Well this letter worked for my cousin a year ago, the court will send you a form to fill in and return with the information that they request.

Mog.

This might help it shows carers are usually excused jury service

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:nV ... cd=1&gl=uk

No, not usually. It's roughly the same probability as flipping a coin. Depending on how you word it, where you are, what mood the official is in, and maybe whether you said your prayers when the wind was blowing in the wrong direction.

I wouldn't have a 50% success operation unless not going ahead was 98% certain death.

I'd like to see something actually mentioned in the information accompanying the letter mentioning carers and explicitly saying that they will usually be excused, not just deferred. There is nothing to this effect on thejury service website at present, nor in the paperwork, nor on the CAB's website (although they mention benefits may be affected without saying how exactly).

This doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the system, let alone whether carers in real life register on the radar of noncarers.

As the feminist lament goes "I wanted to change the world but couldn't find a babysitter" well, guess what? I wanted to do jury service (if circumstances had been different), but between the benefit system, the primary care system, banking hours, and the lack of appropriate social services, care & respite, I can't and never will be able to in this foreseeable lifetime!

Hi Catja, Deferred just means they can't take you out of the system. You will always be on electoral roll, so in a few years you may get selected again. However they should have a *flag* against your name saying your not available. cheers and don't worry about it