6/11/2009

Next Time You Have Jury Duty...

Gigwise:
A Murder Trial Has Been Postponed Because One of the Jurors Has a Ticket to Glastonbury.

The prosecution had started their opening speech at Snaresbrook Crown Court in North London, but the judge halted proceedings after he changed of mind about his earlier decision not to release a juror.

The juror had earlier asked to be exempt from the trial, due to last up to three weeks, but Judge David Radford refused to let him go.

Upon changing his mind, Judge Radford said: “If you had elaborated a bit more on what going to Glastonbury entailed, I would have stood you down this morning.

“I think you perhaps presupposed a bit too much knowledge on my part. This is essentially a pre-booked holiday and you have organised to go with friends.

'A new jury will be sworn in on Wednesday morning allowing the trial to begin.'

Tickets for Glastonbury are of course non-refundable and branded with the festival goer's name.

It's reported that the two-day delay could cost the tax payer thousands of pounds.