Toronto Jury Duty - Now With Free WIFI

Last week, I was summoned to be part of "a citizen's greatest duty during peace time."  I'm quoting the Judge who said this twice and it was part of long prepared script explaining the process.  I had a lot of mixed emotions about going and it was partly because they provide you with so little information in the summons and on the Attorney General's website.  Further, I did not want to sit on a jury for a grizzly rape case or had this nightmare that I somehow be on the Alexander Lisa case or something else to do with our morally bankrupt Mayor. In order to keep my hands busy I took notes during this process and this is my experience and what I learned.  I was summoned to 361 University Avenue as there are several courthouses in Toronto.

In Line for Security Screening - 361 University Ave

What it was like - Day 1:

The summons tells you to arrive for 8:30 at the court house and it feels like you are going on a Charter flight out of Pearson accept there is not a tropical beach at the other end.  You have to line up to go through airport like security (x-ray machine and metal detector) upon entering the courthouse and the Police are efficient.  However, they kept having to remind people to empty their pockets and somehow people don't understand that cell phones contain metal.

After that line-up you proceed to the next line-up outside the Panel Room to check-in with Court Services to register your attendance.  Everyone summoned is pre-selected into one of four panels (it says on your form) and each panel has an attendance list of about 90 people.  This takes easily an 45 minutes and now it is about 9:15.  About 300 people are sitting in a room that is about half the size of a football field.  There is row upon row of chairs, several tables in the front, desks for laptop users on 2 sides of the hall, and a large windows that look outside to a parking lot.  You are instructed to sit with your panel in long and wide columns of chairs facing a large TV mounted high on one of the columns of the hall. Every seat in the hall is taken and a few people have to stand.

The Juror Supervisor comes out and makes an announcement asking everyone to be quiet and he put on a video from 1988 called 'Jury Duty and You' which was created by Ryerson University students.  It felt like a propaganda piece and it was unfortunate that Troy McClure was not the narrator.

After the video, now about 9:30 the Head Court Services again asks to make sure everyone has signed in for attendance.  He now explains the fire drill procedures, lunch, snack bar, washroom location, the lockers, how you can go outside for 15 minutes, and how to get excused/defer from Jury Duty.  This what many people around me were eagerly awaiting to do. He also kindly asks that people use headphones to not disturb their neighbors.

How to get Excused/Defer Jury Duty:

There are "3 Categories of Concern" on the form that you must complete and you will then be interviewed by a court services person and may be required to show documentation (Dr's Note, letter from Employer, etc.) Per the court officer it is a crime to make a false declaration. To save time or having to mail/fax proof later you probably want to have supporting documentation prior to first day of Jury Duty.  Further, you have at least 6 weeks from the day of the summons to when you have to appear to obtain it.

1. You have a medical issue, committed an indictable offence, not a Canadian Citizen, excluded based on profession (police office, lawyer, etc), an inability to speak/understand English (or French.) 
2. Important calendar conflict such as medical appointments, vacation, busy work schedule, etc.  
3. Financial hardships such as self-employed, unemployed, or a full time caregiver to children, elderly or disabled person.  

The process took several hours as people from each section raised their hand and in small groups went up to fill in their form and then get interviewed by a court services officer.  I would think listening to hours of peoples giving excuses and whining would be tedious and boring.  Many people around me just wanted to get Jury duty over with and knew that it would be years again before they are selected.  You do get a 3 year exemption from Jury Duty if you appear and did not opt-out or defer jury duty.  At the end of this process it appears that 40% of the room is now empty from the morning when every seat was initially taken. 

Jury Duty -  Day 1 Continued:

It is now about 11:00 AM and panel 61 is informed to follow a court officer to go to a courtroom.  Panel 64 goes at about 11:30 AM and panel 62/63 go at about 12:30 PM.  So, I scurry and put my backpack in one of the lockers that require a quarter (but you get it back) and to find one with a working key.   Although, you can bring your purse, bag, etc in the courtroom. We follow in a long line like children going in from recess and proceed up several escalators to the top floor.  We are directed in single file to a seat in the Gallery and ordered to put away all cell phones/electronics, no gum chewing and no food. It is a large room entirely with dark wood paneling, high ceiling, with a large raised platform for the Judge to sit and witness stand, and behind a giant Ontario Coat of Arms.  On the front right is the 2 tiered jury galley; complete with swivel office chairs.  We proceed to wait in relative silence for about 20 minutes.  We could see the back of the defendant who was separated from us by a sheet of plexi-glass and a Police Officer was sitting on guard a few meters away.  Further, you could see both the defense counsel and prosecutors in their uniform black coats with white ties.  The judge was no where to been seen.  

We continued to wait and court officers reminded us to be quiet.  About 20 minutes later and now 1:00; we were instructed all to leave for lunch by the Court Secretary.  You could hear a lot of grumbling and of course people were displeased as it felt like a Kafkaesque experience.

Everyone ran off for lunch as you have an hour and most people opted to stretch their legs.  The Eaton Centre is only 3 blocks away and you are near the Sheraton Hotel where you can get access to the PATH system.

Jury Duty - Afternoon in the Courtroom: 

At 1:45 PM we were required back in the Panel room for attendance and then escorted up to the courtroom once again.  This time the Judge was seated and after we all were seated in the gallery again; now about 2:15 and the Judge first introduced himself and apologized for earlier.  He then proceeded to read a document explaining the Jury process and thanking us for our service. 

The Judge then had the Court Secretary read the name and charges for the defendant who was accused of 'Sexual Assault and Assault Causing Bodily Harm.'  The defendant was asked his plea by the Judge and he said 'not guilty.'  

The judge continued in the explanation of the jury process to both us and the defendant.  The Judge informed us that in order to have a fair trial that we can not be familiar with Judge, Court Officers, Prosecution, Witnesses, Defense or Accuser.  If we were to come forward by raising our hand.  Nobody was.  The judge then continued to say that based on discussions with both the defense and prosecution that the case was expected to last 3 to 5 days.  The judge further said if you have any issues about serving on this jury to tell him (such as you or someone close to you had a similar experience, if you did not speak English, medical issue, had a medical appointment, vacation or other concern.) 

Then jury selection began.  This process would repeat itself a minimum of 14 times as the Jury required 12 jurors and two alternates.  The court secretary has a lottery drum and would pick a card out at random with our juror number (we all have a juror number on our summons) and read said number and our occupation out loud.  If it was your number you stood up and proceeded to the witness stand.  You were asked if you had anything to say to the judge.  

About half the people had something to say to the judge and you could see the judge asking follow-up questions.  The judge exercised tact in his voice and manner.  A couple of people were simply dismissed for having a 'medical issue' or an issue without explanation.  Others were dismissed for various reasons, one was dismissed for having his brother accused of the same crime, another because they were a foreman on a jury for a similar case.  The only funny moment came when a man said before the judge that he could not speak 'English good'.   The judge further asked the man what he did for a living and he was a property manager at an apartment building.  With an idiot's grin he said everyone was 'Persian like him.'  The judge said it sounds like you speak English and asked how long he had been in Canada.  He said 'more than 10 years' without flinching and continued to say in a modest accent 'I can only understand 70% of what people in the court were saying.'  The judge stopped and just looked at him for about 10 seconds and he did not seem to waiver.  So, he dismissed the juror.  Like all other Jurors passed over he had to sit on the left side of the gallery until we were all dismissed. If you were passed over you had to remain with the jury panel and could potentially be picked for another trial.  Also, the Judge would ask with all potential jurors to elaborate on their profession.  For example you would be read out as an 'analyst', 'manager' or 'associate.'  But, you would just say you worked for a bank or telecom company, etc. At no time was your name ever said in the Courtroom.  

Than you would state an oath as read to by the court secretary.  There were two variations, one involving putting your hand on the Bible and making an oath to God and one being a more generic oath.  The defense can then ask you up to 3 questions to determine if they want to challenge you as a juror or not.  In our case the Judge explained this to us and he had pre-approved the one question the defense was going to ask.  In long-winded way the defense asked if you can render an unprejudiced verdict against a black man.  You could answer yes or no, some people went into more detail.  After that you and the defendant were told to make deliberate eye contact (face the accused).  After that the defense counsel in consultation with the defendant would say 'challenge' or 'content' for that juror.  If they were 'content' then the prosecution would then have the opportunity to say 'challenge' or 'content.'   

For my experience the prosecution did not challenge once and I know the defense has a number of challenges I just don't know how many.  Almost 50 people were drawn out of the drum and this became a rather boring process after the first hour.  It took about 2 hours to select a jury of 14 people.  What I did notice is that for this trial men were more likely to be challenged than women, specifically South-Asian men.  A few jurors worked for various government agencies and were all challenged as they either were investigators or in regulatory enforcement such as CRA appeals officer, Canada customs agent and OSC auditor.  If you did get selected than you would have to take a seat in the jury box.  

With my fingers crossed I hoped I would not get picked and it worked out for me and the majority of others. It was now about 4:30 and we were dismissed for the day to return tomorrow.  The people who were picked to serve on this trial had to remain after we left for instructions.  I do not know any more details than that.

About that Free WiFi:

When I read another person's blog he complained that they had no WiFi; but they do have it:

Connect to: jury_selection

 Password: jurywifi (all lowercase)

Although, the WiFi was a unstable at times because of the large number of users.  You might want to have movies or TV show already downloaded to your device if you plan to keep yourself entertained.  Otherwise, you are probably fine to read the newspaper, text or twitter.

For my experiences on Day 2 and Day 3 see tomorrow's blog.  Also, my tips for keeping oneself entertained and some of the little things I learned.  Comments, thoughts and suggestions - please add them below.