Trial by Jury
Author | Roger McConchie; David Potts |
Profession | Member of the Bars of British Columbia and Alberta/Member of the Bar of Ontario |
Pages | 227-231 |
Trial
by
Jury
A.
INTRODUCTION
Statutes
or
court rules
in
certain provinces give
a
defamation litigant either
an
absolute
or a
qualified right
to
demand
a
jury trial.
Alberta,
Jury
Act,
R.S.A.
2000,
c.
J-3,1
s.!7(l).
British
Columbia,
Supreme
Court
Rules,
r.
39(24),
(26), (27).
Newfoundland
and
Labrador, Jury Act, S.N.
1991,
c. 16,
s.32(l)
as
amended
byS.N.
1999,
c. 13.
Nova
Scotia,
Judicature
Act,
R.S.N.S.
1989,
c.
240, s.34.
Ontario,
Courts
ojJustice
Act,
R.S.O.
1900, c.43,
s.108
(2).
Saskatchewan,
Jury
Act,
R.S.S.
1981,
c.
J.-4.1,
s.16.
In
Mitchell
v.
Nanimo
District
Teachers
Association
(1994),
94
B.C.L.R.
(2d)
81
(C.A.),
the
majority judgment
of the
British Columbia Court
of
Appeal
suggested that
the
question whether
a
publication defamed
the
plaintiff
is
best decided
by a
jury:
Upon
an
issue "libel
or no
libel'
[that
is, the
question
of
fact
to be
answered]
eight opinions
are
better than one.
Had it
been,
the
jury could have returned
a
verdict
for
either
plaintiff
or
defendants without being deserving
of the
epi-
thet
'unreasonable.'
The
importance
of a
jury
in
civil libel cases
is
discussed
in
Rothermere
v.
Times
Newspapers,
[1973]
1
WL.R.
448,
where Lord Denning M.R. stated
at
page
452
that
the
right
to a
jury trial
"is of the
highest importance, especial-
ly
when
the
defendant
has
ventured
to
criticise
the
government
of the
day,
or
those
who
hold authority
or
power
in the
state."
Writing
one of the
major-
227
c
ii
A p
i i
R
r\v
i:
i
v
i
:
To continue reading
Request your trialUnlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations
