A collection of prospective jurors were asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines and media reporting prior to being selected or excused.
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A trial began in Regina on Monday morning for Michael Gordon Jackson, a man accused of abducting his daughter.
Specifically, the 55-year-old Jackson is charged that sometime between Dec. 6, 2021 and Jan. 21, 2022, at Carievale, SK, he contravened a custody order by taking the child with intent to keep her from her mother.
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He pleaded not guilty to the charge in front of a room packed with prospective jurors in Regina’s Court of King’s Bench.
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Justice Heather MacMillan-Brown, the judge presiding over the trial, gave an overview of the obligations of a jury and the typical reasons why someone might be exempt from having to serve on a jury, before proceeding with selection.
In order to select jury members — if they were not excused for some preliminary reason — each prospective member was taken through what’s known as a “challenge for cause” process.
That process involved prospective jurors being asked case-specific questions relating to their ability to act impartially, in a smaller courtroom without the rest of the jury pool present.
MacMillan-Brown asked prospective jurors whether they had any “biases, beliefs, or preconceived notions” about “COVID-19 vaccinations or vaccination mandates.”
Additionally, she would ask whether the prospective jurors had heard or read anything in the media about the investigation into the allegations against Jackson.
Depending on their answers, further questions would be asked in an attempt to discern whether the prospective jurors would be able to act with impartiality.
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A publication ban prohibits reporting information arising during the trial that has not been heard by the jury as a whole.
Ultimately, in consultation with both Jackson, who is representing himself, and Crown prosecutor Zoey Kim-Zeggelaar, the judge selected 14 jurors to be sworn in.
The law requires 12 jurors, but often the court will select additional jurors in the interest of ensuring that a full complement of jurors is still available, should one or more need to be released during the proceedings. Before deliberations, the jury pool is reduced to 12 through random selection.
The trial is scheduled to carry on over the course of two weeks. Monday’s proceedings hadn’t yet concluded by press time.
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