PSY 3173 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Crown Attorney, Penrod, Shoplifting
15 Jun 2018
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Juries
• 3 types of offenses in Canada
I. Summary
II. Indictable
III. Hybrid
Summary Offenses: tried by judge alone
• They involve a sentence of less than 6 months in prison and a fine of less than $2000
most don’t even do jail time
• Ex: shoplifting, very minor crimes
Indictable Offenses: 3 subtypes: (1) Less Serious | (2) Highly Serious | (3) Other
• Less Serious: you don’t have the right to a jury
o Ex: theft, fraud, failure to comply with probation officer
• Highly Serious: must be tried by judge and jury
o Ex: treason, murder, piracy
• Other: the accused can choose to be tried by a judge and jury, or just a judge
o Ex: robbery, arson, sexual assault with a weapon
Hybrid Offenses: cross between indictable offences and summary offenses
• The Crown attorney decides whether to proceed with the case as an indictable offense
• Ex: sexual assault
Jury Selection in Canada
Jury Act
• Provincial and Territorial legislation that outlines the eligibility criteria for jury service
and how prospective jurors must be selected
• Criteria varies slightly across jurisdictions
• In Ontario, you need to have Canadian Citizenship, live in Ontario, and be at least 18 years old
Jury Summons
• A court order that states a time and place to go for jury duty
• Jury summons sent to individuals randomly from a voter’s list
• Ignoring jury summons = possible legal penalty
• They try to get 100 prospective jurors for a case, when in reality they need 12
• The Crown and the Defence are allowed peremptory challenges (if the trial is for murder
they can reject 20 people each with no reason; 12 people each for other crimes)
o They want to get rid of this and have Challenges for Cause (need to provide reason
for rejecting a prospective juror to the judge OR they may want to ask prospective
jurors a set of pre-scripted questions approved by the judge)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Jury Selection Research
Are Lawyers Able to Select Favourable Jurors?
Olczak, Kaplan & Penrod (1991)
• Provided lawyers with the facts of the case and then the demographic information of the
potential juror (occupation, what they looked like, age) as well as a picture
• Asked for their Top 12 choices if they wanted their client to be acquitted, as well as their
least favourable 12
Results: the lawyers were more likely to make erroneous decisions, more likely to disregard
the ones who thought the defendant was not guilty
Scientific Jury Selection
• Rejecting prospective jurors who would be unsympathetic to one’s case and accepting those
who would be sympathetic, based on predetermined characteristics
• Two Approaches:
o Broad Approach: presumption that there are certain traits or attitudes that will
make them more likely to be pro-defense OR pro-prosecution
o Case Specific Approach: asks members of the community (where jurors will be
selected) about the issues and facts of the case
▪ Distribute questionnaires and look at the characteristics of the people who
would vote not guilty
▪ Based on their findings, would create a profile of characteristics they want to
see in jurors
• The trial lawyers can sometimes ask relevant questions to the prospective jurors if
approved by the judge
• Anyone eligible for jury duty must have an equal chance of being selected
o Those selected should be from the community where the crime occurred
Characteristics of Juries in Canada
Representativeness
• R v. Nepoosee (challenged for having too many women)
• R v. Brown (2 white males charged for sexually assaulting Aboriginal girl, but there was
only 1 Aboriginal on the jury. Even though both males admit to the crime, they were
acquitted.)
o Led to a full review of how we send jury summons
o They now let Aboriginals from reserves volunteer for jury duty
Impartiality
• Can only judge the case by the facts presented in court, can’t bring anything in that you
heard in the news, and can’t involve your personal stereotypes or biases
• Jurors must not have any connection to the defendant
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
