Five things you may not know about being on a jury in Canada

Despite a front-page story in the Toronto Star last week, Ontario jurors have not been granted the right to Google information about defendants in criminal trials.

Yes, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of two cocaine dealers – Lucas and Leonard Farinacci Jr. – who had appealed after learning a juror in their case looked them up on the Internet, in direct contravention of the trial judge’s instructions.

But no, that does not mean the way is clear for search-engine justice, media lawyer Iain MacKinnon tells Yahoo Canada.

“The appeal judges knew what information the jurors had found, and didn’t think it was so significant and material and influential that it had any impact on their verdict,” says MacKinnon, who represented several media outlets – including the Star – in successfully asking that a publication ban on the case be lifted.

“It wasn’t so prejudicial that it would violate their Charter rights, and therefore would be tossed out.”

The juror in question was overheard talking about his “research” in a coffee shop. The appeal was filed quickly in response.

“The unusual thing about this case is that it’s rare for this kind of information to come to light,” MacKinnon says. “I’m sure that jurors in many cases, on a daily or weekly basis, are doing the same thing. However, they’re not telling anyone because they know they’re not supposed to, and therefore it never gets discovered.”

The rules haven’t changed, in other words. The case could still have been tossed if the forbidden outside information swung the jury to convicting.

But as long as we’re in the neighbourhood, what exactly are rules governing juries in Canada? How do they differ from what we all believe we know from watching courtroom dramas on TV?

Jurors aren't sequestered for the entire trial

“Unlike some jurisdictions, in Canada the jury does not stay together the entire time during the unfolding of the evidence,” explains Michael Lacy, defence lawyer with the prestigious Toronto law firm Greenspan Partners LLP.

“Whether it’s a one-day trial, two-day trial or six-month trial, at the end of every day the jury leaves for the night. They go home to their families, and carry on with their regular activities. It’s only once the trial judge gives the jury the final instructions and puts the case in their hands that the jury is then sequestered – kept together until they come to a verdict.”

Jurors aren't grilled by both sides before the trial

Remember all those scenes you’ve seen or read, where lawyers from both sides ask potential jurors how they feel about any and everything, trying to tailor a sympathetic jury before the trial even begins? Again, not here.

“The default position in Canada is you know very little about the potential jurors,” Lacy says. “You know nothing about their religious beliefs, political beliefs, their views on the criminal justice system, or the police. You’re selecting a jury in almost a blind fashion – going on gut instinct. Frankly, I think your chances of being able to guess accurately who’s a good juror, based on the information you have, is about as good as just randomly selecting twelve people.”

Jurors aren't paid

With very few exceptions, jurors in Canada are not compensated for their time. Lacy explains there is some money eventually, if a trial goes on for several weeks. But it is unlikely to match what jurors would be paid working at their regular jobs. He notes that some professionals – teachers, nurses, government workers, those with collective bargaining agreements that cover this – do remain on full compensation when serving on juries.

“So we run into this situation where people get excused from being on a jury by the judge for financial hardship, so you wind up with an even smaller demographic to choose from.”

Jurors can't hold press conferences

Often, you’ll see American jurors calling press conferences after a trial is over, discussing their deliberations – how and why they arrived at their verdict. Lacy and MacKinnon both say this doesn’t happen here, because it is specifically and utterly forbidden under Canadian law.

As for searching online, there appears to be no precedent yet where a Canadian juror was actually jailed for seeking outside evidence. Not true in Britain, however, where the BBC reported in July 2013 that two jurors had been sentenced to two months in jail for contempt of court. One had posted a Facebook comment about the case he was hearing. The other – similar to our story – researched a case online.

“The Ontario appeal judges are saying they know that jurors aren’t perfect, and human nature and curiosity are going to get the better of some jurors, and cause them to online research,” MacKinnon says. “There’s going to be information that seeps through from time to time.”

But he stresses that this doesn’t have to be a serious problem, noting that just because jurors might know things they’re not supposed to, it doesn’t mean they can’t reach and render fair and proper verdicts.

“Jurors don’t have to be, and aren’t completely, ignorant about a case,” MacKinnon concludes. “They are only required to be impartial.”