Pre-screening the Jury Panel

• Author: David M. Tanovich; David Paciocco; Steven Skurka
• Pages: 77-83

C

II A

l>

I

I; R

THE

JURY

PANEL

3.1

INTRODUCTION

An

important

issue

that

arises

prior

to the

challenge

for

cause

and

peremp-

tory

challenge

stages

of

jury

selection

is

whether

the

trial

judge

can

pre-

screen

the

jury

panel

and

excuse

prospective

jurors

on the

basis

of

partiality.

The

Supreme

Court

of

Canada,

in R. v.

Barrow,

[1987]

2

S.C.R.

694,

and

now

Parliament,

in

enacting

section

632 of the

Criminal

Code,

have

pro-

vided

an

answer.

3.2

PRE-SCREENING

THE

JURY

IN

CASES

INVOLVING

OBVIOUS

PARTIALITY

The

Supreme

Court

of

Canada,

in R. v.

Barrow,

[1987]

2

S.C.R.

694 at

709-10,

and R. v.

Sherratt,

[1991]

1

S.C.R.

509 at

527-28

&

532, held

that

the

power

of a

trial judge

to

pre-screen prospective jurors

is

lim-

ited

to

only those cases

of

obvious

or

non-controversial cases

of

partial-

ity. Obvious partiality includes such things

as a

personal interest

in the

case,

or a

relationship with

one of the

trial participants (i.e.,

the

judge,

prosecutor, accused,

or a

witness).

In

Sorrow,

Justice Dickson explained

that

the

reason

for

limiting

the

trial judge's ability

to

pre-screen pro-

spective jurors

is

that, according

to

section 640(2)

of the

Criminal

Code,

77

PRE-SCREENING

3