Jurors rounded up off streets of London, Ontario

[jnelsoninjax]

They were going about their business on a bleak January morning. Hurrying to appointments or perhaps to work.

But in downtown, London, Ont., on Tuesday, 20 people had their plans change suddenly, when they were yanked off the street for jury duty.

A court hearing the trial of three men facing assault and threatening charges had gone through a panel of more than 130 prospective jurors but fell short of the 12 jurors required for the case.

With one seat in the jury box left to fill, Superior Court Justice Kelly Anne Gorman exercised her power under the Criminal Code to have police and sheriff?s officers go out onto the streets to scare up prospects.

An assortment of surprised citizenry soon found themselves standing before the judge, a contingent of gowned lawyers and the trio of accused men.

?It?s the kind of thing they talk about in law school, but something you rarely see in a city the size of London,? said Middlesex Crown Attorney Geoff Beasley.

A pedestrian?s worst nightmare? ?Oh, I don?t know,? said Beasley. ?It would be kind of exciting, don?t you think??

Alan Young, a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, said it?s happened at least once in Toronto, when a court ran out of prospective jurors at a 1988 trial involving a marijuana and hashish smuggling conspiracy known as the ?Rowbotham case.?

Young said for years he jokingly warned law students to avoid the vicinity of the University Ave. courthouse if they ever had the day off.

Defence lawyer Earl Levy says it?s unlikely it would happen in Toronto today, when multiple jury panels often run concurrently. If one panel were depleted, a court would probably turn to another.

But in London, where jury panels typically run at about 130 people, it?s not entirely surprising the court might run out of prospective jurors, Beasley said. In Tuesday?s case, several panel members were rejected using the more than 70 challenges available to defence and prosecution lawyers under the Criminal Code. Others were excused on grounds of hardship.

In the end, no jurors? service was required. After the 12th seat was filled by a woman pulled in from the street, the case was resolved, Beasley said.

Levy said it?s worth noting that while Parliament recently amended several Criminal Code provisions involving juries, it left intact the old one relied on by Gorman.

?So history,? he said, ?is still with us.?

Source

[neufuse Veteran]

kinda exciting? yeah real exciting if you have something you need to do when they say hey come with us to jury duty

[DocM]

That happened 3-4 years ago in Colorado (Greeley?) and I thought WTF?!? No different here.