Dozens of Calgary residents were called in to select a jury – immediately – over lunch at a mall in downtown Calgary this week, citing a rare procedure imported from England.
Alberta officials issued 50 subpoenas to people who were at the Core Mall on Thursday, documents requiring the recipient to go immediately to the Calgary Judicial Center, a few blocks away.
The unusual move was introduced after the court realized that the jurors were not large enough for the upcoming trial because too many jurors were fired due to several factors, said Donna Spaner, a prosecutor in the jury selection who was in court. on Thursday. Among those factors were summer vacation and the subject of the trial, according to Spaner.
That led to a Queen judge issuing the subpoena to fill the gap, she said.
“The court staff and the sheriff went to the mall and have just started handing out lunches to the members of the luncheon at the center of the summons, which required them to attend the courtroom,” Spaner said.
I’m 20 years old and I haven’t seen him before. – Donna Spaner, Attorney General for Alberta
“I can tell you for sure that a number of people whose Thursday afternoon was uncomfortable were not particularly excited.”
She said justice had done a good job of keeping the afternoon “as efficient as possible” and acknowledging its impact on people.
“But from the point of view of someone involved in the system, it’s really remarkable that someone accused of an alleged crime can have such a big impact on the community,” she said.
“I’m 20 years old and I haven’t seen him before.”
Balfour Derr, a criminal lawyer and author of a textbook on criminal law, said the procedure, which was implemented on Thursday, is called Talesman and was imported to Canada from England.
Balfour Der is a criminal lawyer and author of a textbook on criminal law in Alberta. (Lucy Edwardson / CBC)
“They are just people who have not been called. They have simply been removed from the streets and recruited to be part of a potential set of future jurors who could be selected by a specific jury. ”
But those looking for a soft pretzel or a new pair of shoes shouldn’t be afraid to go to the mall – Der says it’s rare for potential jurors to be completely depleted for an upcoming trial.
“It is used very rarely. It is very rare to exhaust a group of future jurors, but it can happen.”
Last used 26 years ago
A spokesman for Alberta’s justice minister, Tyler Shandro, said the last time the procedure was in force was in 1996 in Calgary and in December 2020 in Edmonton.
“Article 642 (1) of the Penal Code provides that the President may … invite people from nearby places to fill vacancies on the jury when the composition of the jury is exhausted before a full jury is elected,” the panel said. the statement.
In this case, 80 potential jurors came to the jury and there were not enough people to choose two jurors. The first jury was selected, but the second was short of six jurors, so more people were needed – it was busy for one to two hours a day, the spokesman said.
The spokesman said that if the people brought in on Thursday were chosen to serve as jurors, they would have to return to court for the trial.
“The jury trial is a cornerstone of our criminal justice system. The right to a trial is that the jury will be chosen at random and will be impartial and representative of the larger community. The jury’s management is working hard to avoid having to rely on Talesman’s procedure, “the spokesman said.
“Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the number of potential jurors released in the days before and on the day of the jury’s election eventually led to its use.
Add Comment