90 Trial Procedures Chapter 6

90 Juries Serious indictable offences are decided by juries – members of the public who are randomly selected to hear a case and decide on the verdict. There are usually 12 people selected to serve on a jury through a process called empanelling. A jury panel is a group of citizens who are selected for possible inclusion on a jury. If a case is controversial, the number of potential jurors included in the jury panel increases.

90 Who Can Be a Juror? Although each individual province and territory may have its own additional criteria, a potential juror must have these qualifications: He or she must be… 1.A Canadian citizen 2.At least 18 years old 3.A resident of a province or territory for at least one year 4.Fluent in English or French 5.Mentally competent

90 Exemptions From Jury Duty The following people are usually exempt from serving on a jury: 1.Politicians 2.Judges, justices, lawyers, law students 3.Doctors, coroners, veterinarians 4.Law enforcement officers and their spouses 5.People who are visually impaired 6.People with certain mental or physical disabilities 7.People who have served on a jury within the previous 2–3 years 8.Anyone convicted of an indictable offence without a pardon being granted 9.People may also be excused from jury duty if they can convince the court with a specific reason (e.g. illness).

90 Screening Potential Jurors During the screening of potential jurors, the Crown and defence have an opportunity to ask a series of questions, which commonly include: –Are you a Canadian citizen? –Are you fluent in French or English? –Have you been convicted of an indictable offence for which you have not been granted a pardon? –What is your occupation? –Do you have a mental or physical disability or medical condition that may interfere with your ability to serve as a juror? –Have you been summoned for jury duty in the last three years?

90 Jury Challenges There are three types of challenges that the Crown and defence can use to accept or eliminate a prospective juror: 1.challenge of jury list 2.challenge for cause 3.peremptory challenge

90 Challenge of Jury List The Crown and defence may challenge how valid the jury list is, but this is rarely done. If either side can prove the list is fraudulent or biased, a challenge of jury list may be successful. Example: The accused is of Aboriginal descent. The 100 prospective jurors who have been empanelled are all Caucasian. The accused feels the jury list is unfair and challenges its validity.

90 Challenge for Cause This type of jury challenge can be used by the Crown or defence when they wish to exclude a potential juror for a specific reason. A challenge for cause is usually based on the belief that a juror has some kind of bias (e.g. racism, sexism, religious discrimination). Example: The accused is Jewish and his defence lawyers believe a prospective juror is anti-Semitic and can prove it. This type of challenge may be used as many times as necessary.

90 Peremptory Challenge This type of jury challenge may be used by the Crown or defence when they wish to exclude a potential juror without a specific reason. Peremptory challenges are often based on the "gut feeling" of a lawyer or as a strategy. Example: A woman accuses her boyfriend of aggravated sexual assault. The Crown wants more young women on the jury than men and may use peremptory challenges to try and achieve this goal. This type of challenge has limits, depending on the severity of the crime. The most serious charges provide the Crown and defence with 20 challenges each, which is the maximum.

90 Jury Duty – Process After being selected to serve on a jury, each juror takes an oath (to arrive at a verdict honestly) and is sworn into the jury box. Jurors cannot: –Discuss the case with anyone outside of the jury –Follow media reports on the case –Disclose any information from their deliberations even after a trial has finished The jury’s final decision on the case is the verdict and it must be unanimous or else the jury is hung (undecided). In controversial cases, a jury may be sequestered (isolated) until the case is over.