The Quest for Representative Juries in the Northwest Territories

In particular, accused persons are not entitled to a jury that includes members of their race or ethnic group, nor a jury that reflects the many ethnicities that make up modern Canada.2 Despite the Supreme Court s views, as a criminal defence lawyer I nonetheless seek to obtain a jury that does include in a more meaningful sense the peers of the individual I am assisting in court. Furthermore, as jurors are told in every criminal trial, they represent the community and they are asked to bring that community s values to bear upon their decision-making process. If a particular community is composed of two or more main racial groups, questions about true representativeness can be expected to arise if the jury is composed completely of persons apparently from only one of those sectors. [...]the ultimate verdict may be more willingly accepted if the accused and other members of the ethnic group to which he or she belongs see that the decision included the involvement of, and is supported by, other members of their ethnic group. First Nations accused were tried by exclusively White juries.