The jury plays an important role in the administration of justice during a criminal trial. A jury is made up of twelve jurors who are called to decide the guilt or innocence of a person accused of a criminal act.

The jury’s decision to convict or acquit a person must be unanimous, and it must be based on the testimony heard and the evidence examined during the course of the trial.

For more information on the legal process, consult the Superior Court, Criminal Division section in Côtécour.

The law provides that to be a member of a jury, you have to be:

· A Canadian citizen;
· Registered to vote;
· 18 years or older.

People summoned by the sheriff (the officer in charge of summoning candidate jurors) are usually chosen at random from the electoral lists of the territory or judicial district where the trial will happen. The sheriff has to summon at least 150 people. This means that many are called, but few are chosen!

A person who is summoned does not automatically become a juror. In the questions below, you can learn about which people are unable to act as jurors, who must ask for an exemption and how the selection of the 12 final jurors unfolds.

Certain people who satisfy the conditions above still cannot be jurors because of their occupation, or the occupation of their spouse.

These people are:

· Members of the Privy Council, the Senate or the House of Commons of Canada (and their spouses);
· Members of the Executive Council or the National Assembly (and their spouses);
· Judges of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court, the Court of Appeal, the Superior Court, the Court of Québec or a municipal court (and their spouses);
· Coroners and officers of justice;
· Lawyers and notaries who are practicing (and their spouses);
· Police officers (and their spouses);
· Firefighters;
· People who have an intellectual disability or a mental illness;
· People who do not speak fluent French or English;
· Those who are being charged with a crime or who have been found guilty of a crime (and their spouses);

If you are among these people, you must fill out the application for exemption form attached to the summons that you received. You must return it within twenty (20) days of receiving the summons.

Yes. Certain people who normally would be able to act as jurors can ask to be excused from this duty. An exemption is not given automatically though.

Among those who might be exempted are:

· Religious officers;
· Staff members of the National Assembly;
· Public servants involved in the administration of justice (and their spouses);
· People over 65 years old (and their spouses);
· Members of the regular Canadian military;
· Anyone who has acted or has been accepted to act as a juror in the past five years;
· People whose health or domestic responsibilities prevent them from acting as jurors.
If you are among these people and you would like to be exempted, you must fill out the exemption application form attached to your summons, as well as a sworn statement (affidavit), and return both within twenty (20) days of receiving the summons. The sheriff can give you the exemption or refuse. If he refuses, then on the day that you appear at the courthouse, you can explain your reasons for wanting an exemption to the judge.

In this case you must go to the courthouse named in the summons you received. There will still be time to explain your excuse to the judge.

The sheriff chooses candidate jurors. By random draw, the sheriff picks out 150 people who are registered on the voters’ list.

The people on this list are summoned to the courthouse on the date written in the summons to participate in the final jury selection. The summons is sent by the sheriff. If you receive a summons, you have to answer it. If not, you can be prosecuted.

Other circumstances allow the judge to excuse a juror from his duties. Before the trial begins, he judge can excuse a juror for the following reasons:

· The juror has a personal interest in the case;
· The jury has a relationship with the judge, the complainant, the accused or his lawyer, or a witness;
· Any other valid reason.

A judge can excuse a juror during the trial if the judge is convinced that the juror should not continue to serve for health reasons, or for another valid reason. For example, a judge might excuse a juror if he thinks the juror is biased.

If during the trial a juror is excused or dies, the trial continues and the verdict can be given, as long as the number of jurors doesn’t fall below ten.

The jury is compensated $ 90 for every day or part of the day of hearings or deliberation, no matter what the total number of days.

When there is a hearing or deliberation at night, the jury receives an additional indemnity of $ 45. This extra indemnity is raised to $ 90 if the deliberations of the jury go all night long.

A juror is also allowed a supplementary indemnity of $ 90 per whole day for Saturdays, Sundays, or statutory holidays, for as long as he is part of the jury or is confined in the place designated by the sheriff.

The Minister of Justice sometimes pays the entire cost of meals and accommodation to the jurors directly. This is not always the case, though. Here is what you can claim for your time as a juror:

• Meals (without receipt)
  Breakfast: $ 10.40 ; Lunch: $ 14.30 ; Dinner: $ 21.55.
  
  
• Accommodation (with receipt)
  Between $ 87 and $ 138 depending on the location of the hotel and the time of year.
  
  
• Transportation (with receipts)
  The jury can be reimbursed for real costs of transportation. The allocation for car travel is fixed at 41,5 cents/kilometer travelled.
  
  
• Childcare or dependent care costs (with receipts and with an order by the judge)
  This is payable to the jurors on a weekly basis. It can vary from a minimum of $ 114, when the juror has one dependent, to a maximum of $ 225 when the juror has 4 or more dependents.
  
  
• Psychological treatment (with receipts and with an order by the judge only)
  The juror may receive up to 5 hours of treatment at a maximum of $65 per hour.

No. Usually, every juror returns home at the end of a day of hearings. Sequestration of jurors is only done during deliberations. At the end of a trial, it is not unusual for jurors to disagree about the verdict they should give. But they must stay together until they come to a unanimous decision and this can take several days. If that happens, then during the deliberations the jurors are put up in a hotel.

The law forbids an employer from firing, suspending or transferring an employee asked to act as a juror. The employer cannot take any discriminatory measures, reprisals, or impose any sanction on the juror.

If a person experiences such treatment, she can take measures against the employer under the Labour Code, for example.

That said, and employer does not have to pay the employee who is absent for jury duty, unless of course a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise.