Trial by jury is one of the corner stones of our legal system. In Manitoba, jury trials take place in the Court of Queen's Bench. Most jury trials are criminal cases, but there can be jury trials in civil cases of defamation, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and malicious arrest. A jury in a civil trial is made up of six jurors and the selection process is the same for a jury in a criminal case.
Jury selection begins with the random selection of a group of 48 or more residents
from a judicial district (this is called the Jury Panel). These persons
are sent a summons or notice to attend court. Under the supervision
of a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench, a twelve member jury
(required for each criminal trial) is selected from this panel
by the counsel representing the Crown and the accused (the defence).
This is done by calling numbers at random from a box of cards
listing all members of the jury panel. When called, each juror
is asked to stand in the jury box in the courtroom, allowing
the accused and the juror to see each other.
The defence and the Crown have a limited number of times when they can challenge
a prospective juror without explanation. This is called a peremptory
challenge. As well, either Crown or the defence may object to
any person serving as a juror at the trial if they believe that
circumstances exist which would disqualify them. This is called
a challenge for cause. Such a challenge may be employed if either
the Crown or the defence thinks a person holds some views on
the matters to be presented at the trial which might influence
their decision on the guilt or innocence of the accused. When
a challenge for cause is made, two jurors take an oath as triers
and decide if the challenged person is acceptable or not acceptable
to sit on the jury or be excused. If acceptable, the juror would
then be subject to challenge by the Crown and the defence.
As stated previously, prospective jurors are selected
at random from judicial districts. A juror requires no formal
knowledge or experience of the law. The only requirements are
that the juror is over the age of eighteen and is a resident
of Manitoba. However, there certain people who cannot be jurors
as set out in The Jury Act. Those persons are:
- Members of Parliament
- Members of the Legislature
- Judges, magistrates or justices of the peace
- peace/police officers
- officers or employees of either the federal or provincial Departments of Justice/Solicitor-General
- lawyers
- court officials
- sheriff officers
- wardens and correctional officers or persons employed by a prison or correctional facility
- probation officers
- medical examiners under The Fatality Inquiries Act
- persons convicted of an indictable (serious) offence, unless pardoned
- persons convicted within the last 5 years of an offence for which the punishment
could be a fine of $5,000.00 or more or imprisonment for one year or more, unless pardoned
- persons charged within the last two years with an offence for
which the punishment could be a fine of $5,000.00 or more or
imprisonment for one year or more where the person has not been
acquitted, the charge has not been dismissed or withdrawn and
a stay of proceedings has not been entered in respect of the
trial for the offence
- persons who are afflicted with a mental or physical infirmity
incompatible with the discharge of the duties of a juror.
The judge begins the trial with
instructions and general information for the jury, explaining
the jurors' role as triers of the facts. The judge and no one
else can instruct the jurors in their duties at the trial. Like
all trials, there are opening statements, in criminal cases,
the Crown Attorney opens with the case for the Crown (the prosecution).
This involves a statement about the offence the accused is charged
with, what the Crown intends to prove and how the evidence will
be presented. This opening statement is not evidence, it is
made only to assist the judge and jury in following the evidence
that will be presented. When the Crown's case is completed,
the defence may also present evidence to the court. In the course
of a trial, there may be objections raised by the counsel to
questions or answers during the examination and cross-examination
of witnesses. The judge will rule on the objections and give
the jury instructions where necessary. These objections are
based on the law of evidence which is designed to ensure a jury's
decision is based upon legally relevant evidence.
In a criminal trial, the jury may be asked to leave the courtroom to permit
technical arguments on a legal point. Such a process is called
a voir dire. Having the jury absent from the courtroom during
the voir dire preserves their impartiality. After all testimony
and evidence has been presented to the court, each counsel sums
up their case for the jury. Like the opening statement, the
summation is not evidence but may assist the jurors in their
understanding of the evidence and the issues of the case.
Following the summations by counsel, the
judge gives the jury precise instructions about the law that
must be applied to the case. The judge outlines the facts the
Crown must prove in order to establish the guilt of the accused,
and advise jurors of the duties they must carry out when they
leave the courtroom to consider their verdict (deliberation).
This is called charging the jury.
At the end of the jury charge,
the case is in the hands of the jury and the jury leaves the
courtroom to the jury room to deliberate. The jury chooses a
foreperson, reviews the evidence and reaches a verdict in accordance
with the instructions of the judge. If the jury requires further
instruction or clarification of some point, it may contact the
judge, who takes appropriate action. Once the jury has withdrawn
to consider its verdict, members of the jury may not communicate
with anyone outside of the jury room except jury ushers and then
only for the purpose of contacting the judge. In a criminal
trial, the verdict in a case can only be reached by the complete
or unanimous agreement of the 12 jurors. Their duty is finished
and the judge will discharge them when the foreperson announces
the jury's verdict in open court.
Each juror must evaluate the
evidence independently. It is contempt of court for a jury to
discuss any aspect of the trial with anyone other than another
juror, or the trial judge. It is also an offence for anyone
to attempt to communicate with a juror about the case. The Jury
Act of Manitoba and the Criminal Code of Canada both prohibit
a juror from discussing or disclosing the nature or the content
of the jury deliberations not revealed in open court, even after
the jury has been discharged.
The Jury Act of Manitoba states that every employer
must grant to an employee who is summoned to serve as a juror,
a leave of absence from his or her employment. The leave of
absence can be with or without pay. When the employee returns
to work following jury duty, the employer must reinstate the
employee to his or her position or a similar position with the
same salary. An employer who fails to comply with this provision
of The Jury Act is liable to the employee for any loss as a result
of that failure. Further, it is an offence for an employer to
directly or indirectly threaten to cause or causes an employee
loss of position or employment or threaten to impose or impose
on an employee any monetary or other penalty because of the employee
being summoned for jury service.
After 10 days of serving as a juror on a trial, jurors will be paid a jury
fee for the remaining days of the trial.