A New Week, same old frustrations...Day 3 at The Bailey

Well. I expect you are wondering if I have finally got on a case. Dear reader, read on.
Monday morning saw me ready and raring to go and do my duty. I rethought the clothes strategy and reverted to smart casual ( black trousers, coffee coloured wrapover top). As it's week two, getting on a case early is paramount. The later the week runs, the longer I am likely to be beholden to the law.

Being a seasoned week two-er now I had a later start. Arrived to find Jury Assembly packed. Roll call for week 2 . Answer my name and scan the room. You can spot the newbies - we seasoned Bailey-ites are the chilled out ones, smug in our experience. The new intake are nervous and twitchy - just like we were the previous week. Sit down with three faces I recognise and a new chap. He is positively antsy, drumming his fingers on the table: 'All this waiting' ! he says ...'I've been here since nine o'clock !' Hollow laughter from the four of us week twos. He is shocked that none of us have made it onto a case yet and we regale him with stories of our rejections from various court rooms.

Time ticks by.

We have a coffee table discussion about whether we think a defendant's 'previous' should be made known to a jury . I think not and argue passionately. Previous history would be too influential and just because you may have done it before, whatever it is , doesn't mean you did it this time. But a jury might just think you have.

Eventually we get round to 'what do you do'. I hate this bit and usually get my line of questioning in first. One of our number says he can't tell us , it's top secret and he has to keep handing notes to various judges who then mysteriously dismiss him. We play guess his occupation. He won't play ball. ( I think he may be a spy)

We exchange the excuses we've heard used in court rooms on potentially long running cases. One chap approached the judge to say he was getting married. 'I will only consider situations that are unique!' thundered the judge. 'But M'lud', said the would be groom,'I only intend to get married once ..that's pretty unique!'
( Apparently M'Lud laughed out loud and let him off.)

Finally it's 'listen out for your name' time again. My three fellow week twos get called and led away up to a courtroom . I get called in a different batch for a different court. We know the trick now. The bigger the group called , the longer the case -more scope for substitutions, and time to brush off those excuses. Only 20 in my group- must be a shortish one !

Court 9. Very small, modern and intimate. 'Members of the Jury in Waiting' says the Judge. 'This case is expected to run about 3 to 4 days, so therefore none of you should have a problem. And indeed no one does. If we are in week two that would take us nicely to the end of our legally required service.

'Pleeeeeaaaassseeeee pick me' I silently plead. (Probably along with everyone else) . One by one the random names are called out. The places in the Jury box fill up. We are down to the 12th place . And guess what .

It's ...not me !

We watch the 12 be sworn in . No objections from the defence. We 8 'rejects' are dismissed by the Judge to return to Jury Assembly.

See 2 of the 3 I was talking to earlier. They have been picked and sworn in and are dismissed - their case starts in the morning. I find an empty sofa and settle down to more waiting. After about 10 minutes a Court Clerk comes out and announces that the 'spares' from Court Nine are dismissed . 'Please return Tuesday ten o'clock'
Never been called 'a spare' before.
And so I go home.