Jurors being pressured or threatened by employers for being on jury duty are being advised by judges to report the matter to the court.
Addressing the new jury pool on Monday in Supreme Court No. 3, Justice Carlisle Greaves said, “We have some employers in this country who seem to feel that their interest is more important than the interests of the country at large and sometimes have been giving our jurors some trouble.
“The law prevents them from so doing, but some may still take the risk . . . . So you might find you get some pressure from there sometimes. Just let us know and we will deal with those issues if they come up.”
Holding aloft several letters from employers requesting that their employees be excused from jury duty, Justice Greaves said that only where there is merit would that individual be released.
“Some employers seem to feel that they send a letter, and it is like an order made by them, and the courts have to go along with it. That is not the case. Even when they send the letter and they do not get the response that they want, they still seem to feel that they can victimise the employee. They should not do that, and I warn them not to do that. If you do that, you may run into the wrong judge, and you may not like the consequences,” he stated.
Reminding the group that jury duty should not be viewed as “a vacation”, the high court judge noted that in many cases, jurors will be told to head back to work if the court is adjourned early.
However, he told employers that it was a “stressful endeavour” sitting in certain trials, especially those of murder, sexual assault and fraud.
“Those are the kinds of things that can be so emotional and so strenuous you cannot expect that a juror is going to get up and go back to work and go through ledgers and stuff like that. You cannot be serious . . . . So I will not insist that a juror who is actually sitting in a trial go back to work when the court has adjourned,” Justice Greaves said.
He also spoke on the educational value of jury duty and its contribution to building a better society.
“You learn how to go home and speak to children, grandchildren, your brothers, cousins and relatives that may be headed for trouble and how to make a pre-emptive strike to keep them from that trouble.
“So you help us to build a better society when you have the opportunity to serve as jurors, and that is one of the reasons that I find that it is important to have a jury system because it is part of the educational process that the judiciary must participate in to make us a better society,” he stressed.
Speaking to the new cohort of jurors in the No. 4 Supreme Court moments later, Madam Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell said, “We have been getting a number of complaints from jurors saying that employers are seeking to strong-arm them in terms of their jury service. If anyone is having challenges from their employers, please indicate to the courts so that the courts can take the necessary steps to resolve those issues.”
She insisted, however, that jurors must return to their jobs after being dismissed from court.
“Employers call to find out whether employees were in court on ‘x’ date or ‘y’ date. If I excuse you and you do not go back to work and you are terminated, I cannot help you. If you are here and you are terminated, I can help you,” she stated.
