Jury Duty

Most jury trials happen in relation to criminal matters. Civil matters may also involve jury trials, though it is rare. In Saskatchewan, only the Court of King’s Bench holds jury trials. There are several steps that lead to a jury trial.

In Saskatchewan, juries are selected from a jury pool. The jury pool is made up of individuals who meet the following criteria:

• over 18 years of age
• Canadian citizen
• resident of Saskatchewan

Individuals are selected randomly for the jury pool using health services numbers. These individuals receive a summons which indicates the time and place that they must attend for jury selection. The number of people in a jury pool is larger than the number of jurors required for a trial. This is because many jurors will likely be excluded from serving on the jury.

Potential jurors must also complete and return a juror information form within 5 days after receiving it. The form gathers some basic personal information as well as information about difficulties serving on a jury could cause. It also includes:

• an overview of juror qualifications
• groups of individuals that are excluded from jury duty
• situations that may give rise to a potential juror being relieved from jury duty
• an application for relief from jury duty

Certain groups of people are ineligible to serve as jurors. This includes:

• elected member of the federal or provincial governments
• judges, justices of the peace, lawyers and police officers
• employees engaged in the administration of justice, such as employees of the Ministry of Justice
• spouses of any of the above individuals
• mayors, chiefs or council members of municipalities or Indian bands
• members of any board of education
• anyone who is or has been a coroner
• active members of the armed forces
• anyone who is legally confined in an institution such as prison
• anyone who has been convicted and sentenced to a prison term of 2 or more years and has not been pardoned
• anyone who has been issued a certificate of incapacity
• anyone unable to understand the language of the trial

Eligible individuals can apply for relief from jury duty in some circumstances. This can be done by applying to the sheriff using the relevant portion of the juror information form. You must submit the application at least 3 days before the date on the summons. After that time, you must ask the judge for relief. You can also ask the judge for relief if the sheriff did not allow your application. The sheriff or judge can grant relief if they are satisfied that:

• your attendance would cause you or someone else serious hardship or loss
• you are suffering from illness that is likely to render you incapable of serving as a juror
• you are a practising member of a religion whose beliefs are incompatible with jury duty
• you are 65 years of age or older
• you have served as a juror in the past 2 years
• you are otherwise incapable of serving as a juror

Individuals who receive a summons cannot simply choose to ignore it. A summons is a legal document requiring attendance. Failure to obey the summons or return the juror information form can result in a fine of up to $1,000.

Juries are selected from eligible individuals in the jury pool. The process takes place before the beginning of a trial. The judge will make some preliminary comments about the nature of the case. They will also make some inquiries to determine whether prospective jurors can act as impartial judges of the facts.

The lawyers for either side are allowed to challenge jurors on grounds that they are incapable, ineligible or impartial. The judge then decides whether to allow the challenge. If the challenge is successful, that juror is excused from jury duty. For civil trials, each party is also allowed to excuse 4 jurors for no reason at all.

This happens until there is a sufficient number of jurors for the trial. For civil trials in Saskatchewan, there are 6 jurors. For criminal trials, there are 12 jurors. The court may also require that there be alternate or additional jurors in case a juror is unable to complete their jury duty.

Determining the facts of a case is the key role of jurors. Judges will interpret the law and provide the jury with appropriate instructions as to what the law is. It is then up to the jury to decide how the facts of the case apply to the law.

Jurors must determine the facts of a case based on the evidence before them in court. They must not be influenced by outside factors such as bias or what they see in the news. This means that jurors must be impartial. Being impartial means hearing the case without prejudice and using the evidence presented at trial to come to a verdict.

Once all the parties have presented their evidence, the jury will go away to deliberate. This is a discussion with the other jurors about the case and what the verdict should be. For civil trials, 5 of the 6 jurors must agree on a verdict. For criminal trials, the verdict must be unanimous. If it is not unanimous, the trial may be redone before a different jury.

After a trial, jurors will be paid for their service unless their employer paid them during that time. Currently, the fee for a juror is $110 for each day or part of a day. This fee is only payable for the days you serve on a jury. You are, however, entitled to reasonable expenses regardless of whether you are selected to be on the jury. These expenses can be for things like accommodation, meals, childcare, travel and parking.