Ottawa – This week, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear a series of cases involving police gathering information about potential jurors on behalf of Crown prosecutors. Yumnu v. H.M.Q., Cardoso v. H.M.Q., Emms v. H.M.Q., Davey v. H.M.Q., and Duong v. H.M.Q. will be heard at the Supreme Court of Canada on March 14 and 15, 2012. In each of these cases, the Crown deputized the police to gather private information on prospective jurors. The police, in turn, prepared annotated jury panel lists based on this information. The Crown then used this information in deciding which jurors would be chosen during jury selection.

The BCCLA will argue that jury vetting by police to gain a tactical advantage in jury selection creates a pervasive air of unfairness and bias, and that the Crown’s conduct in these appeals would cause a reasonable person to question the fairness of the trial, thereby violating the accused’s constitutional rights.

The BCCLA is represented by Gerald Chan and Nader Hasan of Ruby Shiller Chan Barristers.

Read the BCCLA’s Argument in Yumnu

What: Supreme Court of Canada will hear oral arguments in Yumnu v. H.M.Q., Cardoso v. H.M.Q., Emms v. H.M.Q., Davey v. H.M.Q., and Duong v. H.M.Q.
When: Oral arguments before the court begin on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 6:00 am PST/ 9:00 am EST. Arguments will continue on Thursday, March 15.
Where: Supreme Court of Canada (Ottawa, Ontario)
Who: Lawyers for the BCCLA available for comment