The defendant in a motor vehicle accident action served a jury notice.
At the commencement of trial, the plaintiffs moved to strike the jury notice, arguing the main plaintiff, a Muslim-Canadian woman of Afghani descent, would not receive a fair trial due to post-9/11 racism and the political climate.
The trial judge struck the jury notice, taking judicial notice of a reasonable apprehension of bias.
The Divisional Court allowed the defendant's appeal, holding that the trial judge erred in taking judicial notice of such bias without evidence, as the facts were not so notorious as to be beyond reasonable debate.
The matter was remitted to a different trial judge.
