The Saskatchewan government announced Monday it is bringing in legislation aimed at modernizing the jury selection process and encouraging increased participation in the province.
The Jury Amendment Act, 2019 includes a number of amendments to encourage more participation in the process.
Some of the changes include the following:
1. Allowing officials responsible for generating lists of jurors to better determine specific geographical areas from which to summon jurors, through a targeted draw.
2. Removing the current exclusion of spouses of reeves, mayors, city councillors and other officials, to allow for increased juror eligibility and participation.
3. While reeves, mayors and councilors and other elected municipal officials will continue to be excluded from jury duty, amendments will also exclude chiefs and band council members from jury duty. Until now, chiefs and band council members did not enjoy an exemption, and would have been summoned to serve.
4. The amendments also provide increased protection for personal information of jurors, as well as potential jurors. That information will no longer be part of the public record, but will be available to parties of a proceeding; it may also be made available under specific terms and conditions imposed by the court.
The changes come in the wake of the controversial Gerald Stanley murder trial in Battleford in 2018.
In that particular jury selection, the racial composition of the jury came under particular criticism over the lack of Indigenous representation. In the wake of the trial, the federal government brought in changes aimed at removing the use of peremptory challenges in jury selections.
The changes announced Monday by the province focus on another issue: encouraging people to sit on juries. It particularly addresses challenges faced by jurors who live far from the trial venue.
That could make a difference in the Battleford judicial district, which extends to the Alberta border and up north, where jurors could potentially travel hundreds of miles to attend trials.
“These amendments will allow us to take into account travel time for potential jurors while also ensuring that we’re not unnecessarily shrinking the jury pool,” said Don Morgan, minister of Justice and Attorney General, in a statement. “By making it easier for potential jurors to attend proceedings, we hope to improve jury participation and representation.”
Morgan added that serving as a juror is “one of the most honourable and important contributions a person can make to their community.” He added the government is “committed to supporting jurors and potential jurors, and to making it as easy as possible to take part in such a fundamental aspect of our justice system.”
