Dennis Oland jury selected, murder retrial begins Tuesday

Dennis Oland's retrial for second-degree murder in the killing of his multimillionaire father more than seven years ago will begin in Saint John on Nov. 6.

The date was announced at the courthouse Wednesday after the final juror was selected, ending a three-day process that was scheduled to take two weeks.

A total of 16 jurors have been sworn in — nine women and seven men.

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Oland, 50, a financial adviser, was convicted of second-degree murder in December 2015, but the New Brunswick Court of Appeal overturned his conviction in October 2016 and ordered a new trial, citing an error in the trial judge's instructions to the jury.

Oland has again pleaded not guilty in the bludgeoning death of his father, prominent businessman Richard Oland, 69, on or about July 6, 2011.

Normally, juries have only 12 members, but Oland's retrial is expected to be a lengthy one at an estimated four months, which increases the chances of someone getting sick or being unable to serve for other reasons.

The court wants to ensure there are enough jurors left at the end of the trial to deliver a verdict.

A minimum of 10 jurors is required. Otherwise, a mistrial is declared.

So there are 14 jurors and two alternates for Oland's trial, which is scheduled to get underway at 9:30 a.m. at the Court of Queen's Bench.

The final three jurors and two alternates were selected by mid-afternoon Wednesday.

Justice Terrence Morrison told the remaining prospective jurors who were waiting in the courtroom next door they were free to go.

"I'm sure that will make your day," he said over the closed circuit system.

"I know it's been challenging for all of you," he said. "On behalf of the government of Canada and the people of this country, I thank you for your service."

Oland's lead defence lawyer Alan Gold told reporters he was pleased with the process.

"I think it worked very well. We're very happy we've got our jury and we can start the case."

Oland, who is free on bail awaiting his retrial, sat with his three-member defence team during the selection process and actively participated.

He listened attentively as the prospective jurors answered a series of questions posed by Morrison, then whispered with his lawyers as they decided on the individual's acceptability.

There is a publication ban on the questions asked, the answers provided and the reasons anyone was excused.

But some of the reasons people can be excused from jury duty include having a relationship with someone involved in the case, being the primary caregiver to a child under the age of 14, and financial hardship.

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Oland's wife, Lisa, and mother, Connie, sat in the front row of the courtroom, watching as the jurors were brought in one by one for consideration.

Five jurors were selected on Monday and another six on Tuesday.

The first 14 are split evenly by gender, with seven women and seven men. Both alternate jurors are women.

More than 1,000 prospective jurors answered summonses to appear at Harbour Station, the city's largest arena, on Oct. 15.

They were divided into groups of 50 that day and assigned dates to show up at the courthouse for possible selection between Oct. 29 and Nov. 9.

The 16 jurors were selected from among the first 250 or so people screened.