M. Rodriguez

The accused brought an application under s. 629 of the Criminal Code challenging the jury array, alleging partiality or wilful misconduct by the Jury Sheriff in compiling the 2022 Jury Roll.

The defence argued that errors in the jury source list, which excluded eligible 18-year-olds and mishandled prior jurors, compromised the panel.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the errors were unintentional mistakes made despite a rigorous review process, and did not render the jury panel partial or unrepresentative.

The accused brought an application under s. 629 of the Criminal Code challenging the jury panel, arguing that errors in compiling the jury roll breached the Juries Act.

The errors involved the inadvertent exclusion of eligible 18-year-olds and the potential inclusion/exclusion of individuals based on recent jury service.

The court dismissed the application, finding no evidence of partiality or deliberate misconduct by the Sheriff.

The court also held that the unintentional exclusion of a minor segment of the population did not breach the accused's Charter right to a representative jury.