[Citroënbender]

I’d resigned myself to a jury call-up, figuring a three week case divided by a six week holiday was bearable and might get me off the roll for a few years, if not forever. Start date Tuesday 7th.

Tonight I figure, better call the automated line to check all systems go. I hear “Your application to be excused, has been accepted”… I made no application to be excused.

So I logged into the website to double check. Same response, my application to be excused was accepted on 2/12. Seriously, what?

Is this the normal (inaccurately worded) response when a matter does not proceed to trial by jury? Or did the recent hospitalisation automatically disqualify me? I made one phone enquiry on 26/11 about the service period, in which I explicitly stated I was not seeking to be excused, and from memory didn’t even give my juror ID.

I’ve pushed jobs around and let another bloke have a fat one (easy and lucrative) to keep the customer smiling. What a year; three months when we were locked on the spot, give or take, now I’m willing to give my relative freedom in exchange for civic duty and the government isn’t making it exactly clear on why I am suddenly redundant.