Jury vetting

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In Canada the juries are selected from Canadian citizens who have not been convicted of a serious criminal offence.  Nevertheless, juries are not chosen without input by the prosecutor and the accused — a pool of potential jurors is created and from that pool jurors are chosen at random. 

Once a juror is selected both the prosecutor and the accused have a right to excuse a limited number of jurors from consideration without giving a reason.

The decision to exclude a potential juror is usually based on little more than a gut reaction.

Having said that, the list of potential jurors is legally available to the prosecutor and accused a little more than a week before trial and some background about each potential juror can be obtained by searching the Internet or making local inquiries about individuals.  There is nothing wrong with investigating the background of jurors. In a small town, for example, local lawyers might know who has, and who has not, had run-ins with police.

However, some Ontario prosecutors have been getting jury lists early and using otherwise confidential databases to get information on potential jurors.

Once this was disclosed in the media the attorney- general and premier made it clear the practice had to cease. The issue was not the investigation so much as the early release of information and the use of otherwise restricted data bases.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777