Supreme Court to decide on Clifford Kokopenace jury roll case

• UPDATED STORY: Supreme Court rules manslaughter conviction should not be overturned over a lack of aboriginal jurors

The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to release its ruling Thursday on how far Ontario must go to include First Nations people in the province's jury selection process.

In October, Ontario appealed a 2013 decision from the top court that quashed a manslaughter conviction for a First Nations man because of under-representation of aboriginal people in the jury process.

The case involves Clifford Kokopenace, who was charged in the 2007 death of Taylor Assin during an intoxicated altercation at Grassy Narrows First Nation. His trial took place in Kenora, Ont., but nobody on the jury that convicted Kokopenace lived on reserve at Grassy Narrows or any of the other 46 First Nations in the district.

• Clifford Kokopenace jury roll case goes to Supreme Court
• Manslaughter conviction tossed over lack of aboriginals on jury
• 20 cases delayed by Ontario's jury roll problem

"Citizens deserve a representative jury that includes everyone who lives in the jurisdiction," said Delmar Doucette, Kokopenace's lawyer. "This case is important because if the court doesn't hold Ontario's feet to the constitutional fire, I don't think the system will ever change." 

Ontario argued at the Supreme Court that the law requires a state only to "make reasonable efforts" to ensure representative jury pools, and that the province does that.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nations in Northern Ontario, intervened in the case at the Supreme Court. Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said the province has known for years that it had a problem with its jury selection process and did little to correct it.

"The fact that Ontario challenged these [court] decisions to the Supreme Court was very concerning for us and it wasn't necessary," Fiddler said. "It doesn't matter what the decision is in the end knowing the issues that we're trying to address here are still very much real in our communities."

It's a clear injustice that aboriginal people are overrepresented in jails, while being underrepresented on juries, he said. 

"It's our community members that are filling those jails. It's our community members that are interacting with the police, and yet in terms of being part of the justice system, they're not there," Fiddler said.