Winnipeg judge ‘conscripted’ mid-day shoppers into jury duty

Imagine hopping down to the local shopping centre to pick up a new iPhone, or perhaps some Lululemon pants, and suddenly finding yourself serving as a juror in a nine-day sexual assault trial.

Apparently judges have the ability to issue spot court orders in to fill vacant jury seats. As in, if they spot you they can order you to serve.

The Canadian Press reports that a dozen Winnipeg shoppers were rounded up at a mall on Monday and forced to stand as potential replacements.

Justice Gerald Chartier had dismissed one member of his jury, and two alternates, for personal reasons and found his jury short-staffed. The obvious solution was to send a court sherrif down to the Gap and find a fill-in. He called the order “a form of conscription."

In the end, 11 shoppers were released and one was chosen to serve on the jury.

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University of Manitoba law professor David Asper told the Winnipeg Free Press that the Criminal Code does give courts the authority to kidnap jurors when other efforts have failed. But the power is rarely used.

Canadian courts have been having a tough time filling jury boxes, but this seems like an odd way to fill them.

A rash of absenteeism has recently hurt the jury-selection process in several parts of the country. A Halifax Supreme Court judge recently ordered 15 people who ignored their summonses to explain themselves in court or face fines and jail time.

Debate has even stirred about how to entice people to do their civic duty, including improving daily stipends.

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That might work out, actually. Offer jurors more money, and they won't mind putting off their shopping spree for a couple of days.

Still, a shopping mall in the middle of the day doesn't seem like the best place to find the cream of the crop for jury duty.

A couple other places the court could have looked for replacement jurors: at a bar, in line at the DMV, or sleeping on a park bench.

Let's make an agreement that is both democratic and highly-Canadian. The next time people are rounded up and forced into jury duty, they should come from the lineup at Tim Hortons.