No jurors selected yet at accused Fredericton shooter's fitness hearing

No jurors were selected Monday on the first day of a fitness hearing for Matthew Vincent Raymond, the man accused of four counts of first degree murder.

The 800 people who lined up in the morning outside the Grant-Harvey Centre in Fredericton were split randomly into groups of 50.

Groups A and B of the 15 groups will appear at the Fredericton courthouse Tuesday to face questions to determine who among them can be impartial jurors.

The court is looking for 12 jurors and two alternates.

Raymond is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of constables Sara Burns and Robb Costello and Donnie Robichaud and Bobbie Lee Wright the morning of Aug. 10, 2018, at an apartment building on Brookside Drive on Fredericton's north side.

Police have said the four victims were struck by bullets fired from a long gun. 

In recent weeks, Justice Fred Ferguson found enough evidence to call a fitness hearing before a jury to determine if Raymond has the mental capacity to stand trial.

On Monday, the judge read an instruction document to the potential jurors before they were split up. In it, he said that what this jury decides about Raymond's fitness will not affect his criminal trial. They are separate processes.

In an interview outside the Grant-Harvey Centre, defence lawyer Nathan Gorham said an issue with fitness can be remedied.

If Raymond is found not fit, a treatment order can be prescribed with the aim of helping him regain his fitness. Then he would be tried on the murder charges.

"We're pleased that we're going down this route because we believe that Mr. Raymond is suffering from a mental illness, a mental disorder that requires treatment," Gorham said.

Monday's hearing lasted almost 11 hours. 

Raymond appeared in the makeshift courtroom unshaven and wearing an orange jumpsuit. He continuously spoke over proceedings.

As the people in the stands looked on, he yelled that he had fired his lawyer, and that he was going to get the judge and lawyers arrested.

"That's part of the reason why we believe very very firmly that he's not fit, and that he needs treatment very promptly if he's going to have a fair trial moving forward," Gorham said of Raymond's behaviour.

Escorted from rink

The clerk of the court read the indictment against Raymond into a microphone, and soon after he was escorted to a room, where he could hear proceedings but the people in the rink could not hear him.

The first 100 potential jurors will appear in the Fredericton courthouse at 9 a.m.

At about 9 a.m. the judge, defence counsel, Crown and accused appeared in a dressing room for a pre-trial conference to tie up loose ends before jury selection. 

Ferguson ordered a ban on the publication of anything said in the hearing, as well as anything said and done during jury selection. Ferguson removed the latter ban on everything except one fact after the last group was designated.

Earlier, as jury members came through the doors of the hockey rink, they were guided by court staff to different sections of the rink. The entrance was supervised by at least five court sheriffs who searched belongings and led people through metal detectors.

At the end of the possibly week-long hearing, the jury will decide whether Raymond is fit to stand trial.

His actual trial was originally scheduled for Monday but was pushed back in favour of this hearing because of Raymond's behaviour in court. 

Whether, or when, the main trial proceeds will depend on what the jury decides. A new jury will be chosen if Raymond is declared fit.

Being fit to stand trial means defendants are capable of understanding court proceedings and are able to defend themselves alone or through a lawyer. 

Fitness to stand trial deals with the accused's current mental state. It has nothing to do with an accused's state of mind during an alleged crime. Criminal responsibility is a separate matter.