Something is not just in the Canadian justice system. And I think it has to do with jury selection.

            As everyone probably knows by now, an all-white jury acquitted Gerald Stanley of murdering Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree man.

            Some facts are uncontested: Boushie had been drinking with four buddies. They were driving around in an SUV, and drove onto Stanley’s farm. Stanley came out carrying a loaded handgun. During an argument, Stanley shot Colten Boushie in the back of the head.

            Other matters are not clear. Such as whether the five genuinely wanted help for a leaky tire. Or if they intended to steal and/or damage property.

            Stanley claims the fatal shot resulted from a “hang fire” -- a delay between pulling the trigger and the bullet leaving the gun. Gun experts disputed his claim.

            A CBC investigation suggests that the RCMP botched its gathering of evidence. They left the car in which Boushie was killed uncovered, with the door open. A rainstorm washed away blood splatters in the car before forensics experts could examine them. No photos were taken of blood spatters on the roof of the car. The gun and Stanley’s hand both showed significant gunpowder residue. But Boushie’s body didn’t, suggesting that the bullet that killed him was not shot at close range.

            Emotions ran high. Saskatchewan farmers rallied behind Stanley, claiming that they had a right to defend their property from indigenous invasions. Indigenous people called the jury’s verdict proof of a historic bias against indigenous peoples -- citing many trials in which whites accused of murdering indigenous victims were acquitted.

            Meanwhile, indigenous people have a far higher conviction rate than white people. About 23 per cent of inmates in federal prisons are indigenous, although they make up barely five per cent of Canada’s population.

            The Saskatchewan government has since decided not to appeal the acquittal. The Crown prosecutor said that the judge, the prosecutor and the defence lawyer had followed the law scrupulously.

            But it’s precisely the law that’s the problem. "They keep asking us to have faith in the justice system,” said Boushie’s uncle Alvin Baptiste, “but indigenous people have no faith in the justice system at all."

Flaws in the process

            The root of contention, it seems to me, is jury selection.

            Theoretically, juries are chosen at random from the total population of Canadian citizens.

            Some exclusions apply. But beyond those, lawyers have “peremptory challenges.” Either side can disqualify up to 14 potential jurors -- in this case -- without giving any reasons.

            It might be because the person wears a business suit. Or has a beard. Or, perhaps, looks indigenous.

            In the U.S., judges can demand reasons for peremptory challenges. In Canada, they can’t.

            Although it’s illegal to challenge for gender or racial reasons, the Globe and Mail reported that Stanley’s defence rejected every potential juror who looked indigenous.

            “Peremptory challenges are really asking lawyers to rely on their stereotypes,” charged Jonathan Rudin of Aboriginal Legal Services in Toronto. “You never see people being excluded from a jury because they’re white.”

Reasonable criteria

            I have no inside knowledge of the system. Indeed, I have only once been called for jury duty. A native man -- the term we used in those days -- was accused of raping a woman who had accompanied him to his fishing boat and had passed out drinking.

            I wasn’t asked a single question about my prejudices (which I did have at the time, I admit), or any prior knowledge of the case. The defence lawyer eliminated me after a single glance.

            It seems to me that potential jurors should be dismissed only if there is reasonable cause to believe they cannot produce an unbiased, unprejudiced verdict. Juries must render their verdict “beyond a reasonable doubt”; surely “reasonable” should also apply to jury selection.

Legitimacy of the system

            Over the years, a variety of studies have recommended abolishing peremptory challenges, or at least amending them. In 1991, the Manitoba Aboriginal Justice Inquiry called Manitoba’s jury system a “glaring example of systemic discrimination” and called for peremptory challenges to be eliminated.

            Similarly, in 2013, former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci issued a “scathing report” about the under-representation of First Nations people on juries. He recommended that Ontario amend its Criminal Code to prevent peremptory challenges against First Nations people called for jury duty.

            Iacobucci argued the under-representation of indigenous jurors has affected perceptions about the legitimacy of the whole judicial process.

            It would take very little to amend jury selection, and to make the Canadian justice system look a lot more just.

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Copyright © 2017 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups encouraged; links from other blogs welcomed; all other rights reserved.

            To send comments, to subscribe, or to unsubscribe, write jimt@quixotic.ca

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YOUR TURN

Fewer letters this week – I guess people aren’t as passionate about privacy as about figure skating – but some were fairly long.

Frank Martens has been on his own privacy soapbox recently: “My interest stemmed from a phone call coming from my neighbour in the farm next to my orchard. I had been flying my camera-equipped drone high above my acreage during a nice sunny day. On returning to my home, I received a nasty phone call from said neighbour accusing me of invading his privacy by flying the drone over his farm. My drone has the capability of flying at a 300 metre elevation and can extend its range to about 5 or 6 kilometers with no hill or other obstructional interference. So, from his perspective, I could have been flying it over his property, but it was within bounds of my land, although I could easily see his home if I wanted to.

            “I wrote to the newspaper with the same information you mentioned about how cameras are on every street corner, inside every building keeping track of individuals wherever they are, so it’s pointless in talking about privacy. The gov’t, however, is laying down rules for drone owners, so that soon the only area for us to fly them will be in deserted countrysides or uninhabited forests or deserts. As a result, drone owners are forming an association, much like gun owners, to counteract the rather foolish controls the gov’t is intending to legislate. I don’t think drone owners would become peeping toms, but, I guess, there is that possibility.

            “I suppose next on the list will be model plane owners.”

Laurna Tallman: “Your question about whether humans are good or bad begs the question of the foundations of morality: we are both. The issue is not about whether we are good or evil but about how some achieve goodness over the intrinsic capacity in all people for evil. The teaching of morality and the choosing of sides in debates about the moral code is per se a demonstration of rational morality. That you and I and others who read and contribute to your debates is proof of the goodness quotient in each of us. The rewards are a personal sense of satisfaction in making a rational argument and, sometimes, in the implied approbation of that process (not necessarily agreement with your side in a debate) when you share a contribution from a reader, which proves that the opportunity for influence is not entirely one-sided.

            “A physiological element is involved in reasoning, grammar, the construction of sounds in words and words in sentences and sentences in arguments. The sense of well-being produced when those tasks are achieved also is physiological, embedded in neural pathways that heard ‘well done’ at home, school, church, or other social contexts.

            “The capacity for learning how to think rationally is the same capacity that allows for the learning of self-control: both abilities reside in a tiny muscle in the right middle ear. That right-ear muscle controls the amount of high-frequency sound reaching the left, rational hemisphere of the brain. The strength of the muscle determines the relative strength of the stream of sound energy powering the ability of the moral system in the rational left-brain to dominate the amoral pleasure orientations of the right-brain. Thus, the net capacity of the integrated left-and-right-brains for behaving morally is physiological and is tested when the physiological rewards for exercising that learning are low. Hence, the importance of the example of Jesus Christ, who stayed the course of His rational contributions to human discourse through torture and death and the agony of resurrection.”

Tom Watson had his own experience of the ubiquitous reach of data mining: “Over the past six months I have had a half-dozen inquiries asking if I was interested in performing a particular wedding ceremony, from The Knot, a wedding planning and arranging service located in Brooklyn, New York.

            “None of the inquiries are located anywhere close to where I live in Guelph. So I wrote to The Knot asking that no further inquiries be sent. Turns out I have what is called a ‘Live Storefront’ on their site. Didn't even know I had it. Didn't put it there. The Live Storefront shows me as being at Sheffield United Church, which I left in June of 2014. There is one 5-star glowing review, from a wedding I conducted in 2012.

            “As nearly as I can understand, the Live Storefront listings get on there through Google. How all of this happens is not clear to me. I wouldn't even have known about it had the support person at The Knot not pointed me to the link.

            “They are going to remove me from there. Except that ‘it can take up to 30 business days for the listing to be removed from Google and other search results’.”

Bob Rollwagen says that he doesn’t care “who is watching and if it is possible to turn it off. The real question is -- who is looking at all this data and do they understand it? I have not seen any evidence that much is reviewed and even less that they really know what I think. Politicians claim to use this information but this is not evident from their communication.”

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TECHNICAL STUFF

If you want to comment on something, write me at jimt@quixotic.ca. Or just hit the ‘Reply’ button.

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PROMOTION STUFF…

To use the links in this section, you’ll have to insert the necessary symbols.

            Ralph Milton ’s latest project is called “Sing Hallelujah” -- the world’s first video hymnal. It consists of 100 popular hymns, both new and old, on five DVDs that can be played using a standard DVD player and TV screen, for use in congregations who lack skilled musicians to play piano or organ. More details at wwwDOTsinghallelujahDOTca

            Ralph’s HymnSight webpage is still up, http://wwwDOThymnsightDOTca, with a vast gallery of photos you can use to enhance the appearance of the visual images you project for liturgical use (prayers, responses, hymn verses, etc.)

            Wayne Irwin's “Churchweb Canada,” an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. <http://wwwDOTchurchwebcanadaDOTca>

            I recommend Isabel Gibson’s thoughtful and well-written blog, wwwDOTtraditionaliconoclastDOTcom

            Alva Wood’s satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town -- not particularly religious, but fun; alvawoodATgmailDOTcom to get onto her mailing list.

            Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony” -- ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’s readers. Write him at tomwatsoATgmailDOTcom or twatsonATsentexDOTnet