Justice is a smoking gun ... I mean ... smoking ban

My jury service is now over and I'm back to my normal routine. I'm going to write very little about the case I was on, the court proceedings, or anything like that, but there is one aspect of what happened over the last two weeks which concerns me.

The UK now has a smoking ban in all public buildings and workplaces. Obviously, this includes court buildings. And, as a juror, you're not allowed to leave the building unless released by the judge (if you're on a case) or the jury clerk (if not on a case). It seems common for most courts to give mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks, as well as lunch, so - while the evidence is being presented - smokers shouldn't have to go more than a couple of hours at a time between cigarettes.

But then comes the jury deliberations. The twelve of you are locked into a jury room (with private loos en suite) and not allowed to leave until you reach a verdict. Lunch, and anything else you need, is brought in to you. But you can't go out. So you can't smoke. (For the record I don't smoke, and never have).

All that I will say about the case I was on was that it was seen by the judge to be straightforward, and give the events and times of the final day.

We were required to be present at 9.45 am. So that's the time of the last cigarette. We were sent out to deliberate our verdict at about 11.20. Around 12.45 our lunch was delivered, and the usher informed us that no verdicts would be taken between 1.00 and 2.00.

By 2.00 we hadn't quite achieved a unanimous verdict, but weren't far off; ten were in agreement with what became our final verdict, with two unconvinced rather than opposed. One of those was a smoker. It was now over five hours since the last cigarette, and there wouldn't be another one until we had agreed a verdict, given it in court, and been discharged.

The verdict became unanimous within a few minutes of that. I don't know if the need for some nicotine influenced the change of mind, but it could have been a factor. And we took only about three hours to reach our verdict; some cases will take days.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that some people are convicted - and some freed - because of jurors' addictions. And that worries me.