Arguments begin in charter challenge on jury selection in Edmonton LRT death case
Gareth Hampshire | CBC News | Posted: December 15, 2015 12:02 AM | Last Updated: December 15, 2015
Aboriginal people face barriers to serving on juries, court told
With 41,985 indigenous people living in Edmonton, the chance of finding someone with that background in a pool of 178 potential jurors is virtually impossible. 0.00005875 per cent to be exact.
That's the percentage expert witness Jacqueline Quinless gave to court Monday in a pre-trial application made by the lawyer for Jeremy Newborn.
Newborn, of aboriginal descent, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of John Hollar on an LRT train in December 2012.
Newborn's case will be heard by a jury.
But his legal team have said the lack of diversity in the pool of potential jurors suggests a systemic problem faced by indigenous people accused of crimes.
Last year, when his trial was supposed to begin, Newborn's mother was allowed to walk among potential jurors but didn't see anyone who looked indigenous.
Newborn's trial was delayed until the court could hear a charter challenge on how juries are summoned and selected.
Arguments started Monday in Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench.
Quinless, a research consultant and sessional lecturer who's worked in the area of statistical analysis and aboriginal issues for the past 20 years, testified statistics from the 2011 census show indigenous people make up 5.3 per cent of Edmonton's population.
Her calculation that there is a 0.00005875 per cent chance of finding an aboriginal person in a group of 178 Edmontonians was based on a simple random sampling method.
However, that assumes circumstances are equal with the rest of the population.
Summons don't get to everyone
Aboriginal people face additional barriers to serving on juries, she testified.
Quinless told court there are lasting legacies from colonial policies like residential schools. Many aboriginal people remain in trauma from painful pasts that have led to things like violence, substance abuse and lower education rates, she said.
An over-representation in the justice system has created issues of mistrust, meaning many in the aboriginal community don't want to participate on juries because they are intimidated by the system.
Sending jury summons through the mail also creates issues, Quinless testified, because many younger indigenous people move to urban centres from their reserves for work and school and may miss the notice.
She also gave evidence about the policy that only people who've been pardoned for a criminal offence can be considered for jury duty.
Anyone seeking a record suspension faces a $631 fee.
Quinless said that cost that could be harder to bear for aboriginal people, who on average make less money and have a higher chance of living in poverty.
Quinless did not face any cross-examination from the Crown today.
She is the only witness the defence is calling, meaning this part of the hearing could finish Tuesday.
The defence isn't talking about how their charter challenge could affect the second-degree murder case.