Lady luck fails to smile on QC juror

An unlucky barrister on jury duty has been discharged from three juries in the last eight days because he keeps bumping into colleagues.

The QC was called to jury service on 6 April the day after new legislation came into force allowing lawyers and judges to be called to perform the civic duty.

Over an eight day period, the barrister, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was first asked to serve in a court in the South East, but requested for the place to be changed since he practised there on a regular basis.

He was then asked by Judge George Bathurst-Norman to stand down on a murder trial because “he knew too much about the system”. This week, he was chosen as part of a panel of 16 jurors on a another case but his name was not called.

After this incident, the QC applied to Mr Recorder Richard Hone requesting not to sit on any other cases. However the judge said: “The rules have been changed rightly or wrongly to permit people like yourself and indeed myself being available for jury service.”

Just yesterday, the barrister was called again to set on a burglary trial but was discharged because he knew the judge. Following this, the QC today applied to the Old Bailey’s most senior judge, the Recorder of London Michael Hyam to be discharged from jury service. His application has been refused.