In the case I served on, there weren’t really any examples of where we had to distinguish between truth and falsehood. As for the facts of the event, the prosecution and defense were broadly in agreement, and the case was backed up by pretty unambiguous (CCTV) evidence. What made it difficult was applying the interpretation of the law to the case.

As I said above, there are lots of aspects of law that use vague words like “reasonable”, “competent”, “typical”, etc., and it’s when these are challenged on grey-area fringe cases like mine that juries really come into play. Imagine a hypothetical case in which a homeowner detains an intruder into their home: the law says that a person in this situation can use “reasonable force” to prevent them from escaping and to protect themselves (if I remember correctly). Imagine that the trespasser suffers an injury, and attempts to bring an assault charge against the homeowner: in this case, the defense and prosecution might agree entirely on the facts, but disagree on whether the level of force used was ‘reasonable’.

After the cases are made, the judge will of course give you clear directions on how you are to understand the law, and then all you have to do is answer the simple questions, e.g. “was that reasonable? i.e. is it what ‘a reasonable person’ would do?” That’s a tough question, but it’s not so much about determining truth as interpreting words.

There are cases where the prosecution and defense disagree: where the defendant’s testimony directly contradicts the witness statements. They’re rarer, I suspect, but you might get assigned to one of those. But based on my experience, I think that you can safely assume that you’ll be cared for and looked after by the judge and court officials just as well (if not better) than I was, and that you’ll be given all of the information you need to help you.

Make sure your jury foreman/forewoman is the type of person who’ll make sure that everybody gets their say, and keeps order in your jury room, and it’ll all be okay. And watch Twelve Angry Men, if you haven’t already. It’s not a great example of what jury service is like, but it’s a spectacular film and it does a great job of stressing the importance of sticking up for what feels right, and about not being ashamed to change your mind if that’s what feels right, too.

Good luck!