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[dee.jay]

Someone tell Nicola Sturgeon that, will they?

[renluop]

Broadstairs wrote

Yes there are some 17 year olds who would take it seriously but I very much doubt that many 16 year olds would fall into that category. I believe that some experience of real life would be a good thing prior to being able to vote

I'm undecided, if being in work, which I take as the meaning of real life in the quote is entirely accurate. Just for one example take the early teenager, who sees the damage, economic, social and relational wrought on a family by unemployment or similar misfortune, I believe that can be the experience, albeit by proxy. Equally some who are in work lack the experience of real life, because their or parental wealth has eased their paths into very cushioned existences.

[sevenlayermuddle]

I suppose another comparison, with hopefully no political element, would be jury service.    How many of us can say, hand on heart, they’d be comfortable being put on trial in front of a jury comprised of children?

Yet if children were deemed fit to vote in democratic events, why not juries?

[renluop]

SLM; maybe that one person's vote in an election is only effective if many more vote the same way to make a majority, but a jury can decide on one's fine, or incarceration, o,r as wished by some, forfeiture of life.

Come to think of it some adult jury decisions can be as perverse, as many of those feared of youngsters.

[sevenlayermuddle]

As mentioned briefly in a different thread, I recently got summonsed for Jury service, first time in my life.   It got cancelled, for which I was immensely grateful. 

I was grateful because it meant I didn’t have to get up early each day, but also because it is a pretty daunting task and not sure I’d have enjoyed it.   I’ve heard from others that attitudes among fellow jurors can be depressing, such as “his sort are always guilty”, or “I need to be home on time so I’ll agree with whatever the other jurors think”.

[g3uiss]

Jury duty. My other half enjoyed hers, I’ve never been asked. Not sure how selection works but I think I would liked to experience it. Life is short experiences are great.

[sevenlayermuddle]

Yes I had mixed feelings.   Trial by Jury is pretty fundamental to the justice system and I’d have liked to experience it for myself, if only it didn’t involve a horrible commute with no public transport.

I think selection is meant to be completely random, as long as you meet the criteria.  If you’ve a good excuse such as a pre-booked holiday you might be allowed to defer it, but then you are no longer random - you can definitely expect another letter quite soon.   After serving you return to the ‘random pool’ so it’s statistically possible to get summonsed multiple times in your life, and that does happen.

I got completely let off this year at their own discretion, but my chances of being summonsed again next year, or even next week, are now the same as anybody else’s.  And I shouldn’t tempt fate by gloating as the horrible commute would be even more horrible in winter.

[chenks]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmgcbsFFY1A[/youtube]

and i'm fairly sure it's true

[sevenlayermuddle]

 

I did receive advice that if I turned up in a T-Shirt decorated with the logo “bring back hanging”, I might be less likely to be selected.   But after some research of my own I concluded that doing so might also place me in jeopardy of being charged with various offences from Contempt of Court upwards, facing a possible lengthy prison sentence.   So I decided against that strategy.

[g3uiss]