Jury selection holdup at Yellowknife hotel will cost taxpayers $1,190

On Sept. 21, Mary Anne Lafferty was convicted of eight counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking. Vitaline Lafferty was acquitted of the same charges.

Hundreds of people showed up at a Yellowknife hotel Monday for jury selection, only to be turned around and asked to come back Tuesday.

The territory's Department of Justice confirmed to CBC News that Monday's selection process at the Chateau Nova hotel was cancelled because there was no interpreter.

There will be two interpreters available on Tuesday at the Explorer Hotel — the new location for the proceedings — confirmed Jeff Round, director of court services, in an email response.

A jury is being selected for the trial of Vitaline Lafferty, who's in her late 70s, and her daughter, Mary Anne Lafferty. The women, both from N'dilo, N.W.T., are facing drug charges.

392 people expected 

The department said 1,000 summons were sent out, and of those 540 were served. There were 392 potential jurors expected to be at the selection this week, as 148 people were excused before Monday.

The delaying of the jury selection will cost taxpayers an extra $1,190 — the cost to rent a conference room at the Explorer Hotel. It cost $350 to rent the space at the Chateau Nova, according to the department.

There won't be any additional cost for staff salaries, Round said.

Round said the department "is concerned" about the inconvenience Monday's cancellation may have caused the 392 potential jurors, but if it had been cancelled altogether, it would have been months before another selection could be scheduled.

"The passage of time can negatively impact trials as witness availability and people's recollection of events tend to deteriorate over time," he said.

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