Lawyer for Luka Magnotta looking for 'open-minded' jurors
Andrea Janus, CTVNews.ca
Published Monday, September 8, 2014 6:21AM EDT
Last Updated Monday, September 8, 2014 3:58PM EDT Luka Magnotta’s lawyer said he is looking for “intelligent” and “open-minded” jurors, as the challenging jury selection process for his client’s murder trial began Monday.
Luc Leclair called the first day “instructive” during an afternoon press conference, saying he didn’t have any specific plan in mind for choosing the group who will determine Magnotta’s guilt or innocence.
"The experience we had this morning was a good one because it allowed me to see how Montrealers reacted," he said. "We had reactions that were pretty strong.”
Magnotta faces five charges in connection with the death and dismemberment of Chinese student Lin Jun in May, 2012:
The Crown and the defence must find jurors who have heard the gruesome details of the case but feel they can remain impartial, which is not impossible but is “certainly going to be a challenge,” says criminal defence lawyer Nathan Gorham.
Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer, who will oversee the trial, told the potential jurors that if selected they would have to hear evidence that would be difficult to listen to.
However, he said there was no video recording submitted as evidence that shows Lin's homicide.
Magnotta was present during the selection process. During a break, his lawyer told reporters outside the courtroom that his client is feeling "shocked" by what's going on, Lee said.
Problems finding bilingual jurors
Potential jurors were granted exemptions on Monday because they were not sufficiently bilingual.
Cournoyer told the jurors that they will need to be bilingual in both official languages because testimony will be presented in both English and French.
Other exemptions were granted for age or work-related concerns.
Impartiality
Details of the case captivated observers worldwide after Lin’s torso was found outside a Montreal apartment in late May of 2012. Body parts turned up in Ottawa and in British Columbia, and a film purportedly showing his murder and dismemberment appeared online. Six days after police publicly identified Magnotta as their prime suspect, he was arrested without incident at an Internet café in Berlin.
The case received “unprecedented” coverage not just in the mainstream media, but over social media, as well.
The Crown and the defence can each dismiss potential jurors for cause. So their challenge will be to identify those who can be open-minded to hearing both sides of the case, Gorham told CTV News Channel.
“You really have to rely on the jurors to tell the truth when they are asked the ultimate question: Can they set aside anything that they’ve learned outside of court, and can they judge the evidence before the court without bias, prejudice or partiality?” Gorham said. “So we have to have faith in our system and we have to have faith in jurors to honour their oaths.”
It will be difficult to find 14 people who have never heard of the case and formed “some preliminary opinions about it,” said CTV legal analyst Steven Skurka, who is the co-author of a book on jury selection.
“The real concern is getting people to put aside whatever strong views and biases they may have, and coming into the courtroom and deciding the case only on the evidence,” he told CTVNews.ca.
Gruesome testimony
Neither the Crown nor the defence can ask potential jurors about how they feel about specific pieces of evidence, Skurka said.
In the United States, jurors can be questioned extensively both in writing and in the courtroom about both their views of the case and their own personal values and opinions, he said.
The vetting process in Canada is cursory in comparison, but it won’t be impossible to find 12 jurors and two alternates.
The key, Skurka said, is to watch how the candidates not only answer questions but their overall behaviour in the courtroom.
“If someone seems, for example, particularly reluctant to answer or to be there, that’s not someone you want to entrust with determining your client’s liberty,” he said.
Timing
Two weeks have been set aside for jury selection, a long period of time that likely was set aside due to the sensitive nature of the case, Skurka said.
Juries were chosen in a matter of days for other high profile cases, such as the trial of B.C. serial killer Robert Picton. But the length of time allotted in the Magnotta case is “probably a precaution,” Skurka noted.
“If it took two weeks it may go down as the longest in history,” he said.
With files from CTV News' Vanessa Lee, CTV Montreal's Rob Lurie and The Canadian Press
Read more: Lawyer for Luka Magnotta looking for 'open-minded' jurors | CTV News
That'll be a tough one given the notoriety of the case! And it looks like the circus is expected to begin Sept 22.
Andrea Janus, CTVNews.ca
Published Monday, September 8, 2014 6:21AM EDT
Last Updated Monday, September 8, 2014 3:58PM EDT Luka Magnotta’s lawyer said he is looking for “intelligent” and “open-minded” jurors, as the challenging jury selection process for his client’s murder trial began Monday.
Luc Leclair called the first day “instructive” during an afternoon press conference, saying he didn’t have any specific plan in mind for choosing the group who will determine Magnotta’s guilt or innocence.
"The experience we had this morning was a good one because it allowed me to see how Montrealers reacted," he said. "We had reactions that were pretty strong.”
Magnotta faces five charges in connection with the death and dismemberment of Chinese student Lin Jun in May, 2012:
- First-degree murder;
- Committing an indignity to human remains;
- Publishing obscene material;
- Mailing obscene material;
- And criminal harassment of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament.
The Crown and the defence must find jurors who have heard the gruesome details of the case but feel they can remain impartial, which is not impossible but is “certainly going to be a challenge,” says criminal defence lawyer Nathan Gorham.
Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer, who will oversee the trial, told the potential jurors that if selected they would have to hear evidence that would be difficult to listen to.
However, he said there was no video recording submitted as evidence that shows Lin's homicide.
Magnotta was present during the selection process. During a break, his lawyer told reporters outside the courtroom that his client is feeling "shocked" by what's going on, Lee said.
Problems finding bilingual jurors
Potential jurors were granted exemptions on Monday because they were not sufficiently bilingual.
Cournoyer told the jurors that they will need to be bilingual in both official languages because testimony will be presented in both English and French.
Other exemptions were granted for age or work-related concerns.
Impartiality
Details of the case captivated observers worldwide after Lin’s torso was found outside a Montreal apartment in late May of 2012. Body parts turned up in Ottawa and in British Columbia, and a film purportedly showing his murder and dismemberment appeared online. Six days after police publicly identified Magnotta as their prime suspect, he was arrested without incident at an Internet café in Berlin.
The case received “unprecedented” coverage not just in the mainstream media, but over social media, as well.
The Crown and the defence can each dismiss potential jurors for cause. So their challenge will be to identify those who can be open-minded to hearing both sides of the case, Gorham told CTV News Channel.
“You really have to rely on the jurors to tell the truth when they are asked the ultimate question: Can they set aside anything that they’ve learned outside of court, and can they judge the evidence before the court without bias, prejudice or partiality?” Gorham said. “So we have to have faith in our system and we have to have faith in jurors to honour their oaths.”
It will be difficult to find 14 people who have never heard of the case and formed “some preliminary opinions about it,” said CTV legal analyst Steven Skurka, who is the co-author of a book on jury selection.
“The real concern is getting people to put aside whatever strong views and biases they may have, and coming into the courtroom and deciding the case only on the evidence,” he told CTVNews.ca.
Gruesome testimony
Neither the Crown nor the defence can ask potential jurors about how they feel about specific pieces of evidence, Skurka said.
In the United States, jurors can be questioned extensively both in writing and in the courtroom about both their views of the case and their own personal values and opinions, he said.
The vetting process in Canada is cursory in comparison, but it won’t be impossible to find 12 jurors and two alternates.
The key, Skurka said, is to watch how the candidates not only answer questions but their overall behaviour in the courtroom.
“If someone seems, for example, particularly reluctant to answer or to be there, that’s not someone you want to entrust with determining your client’s liberty,” he said.
Timing
Two weeks have been set aside for jury selection, a long period of time that likely was set aside due to the sensitive nature of the case, Skurka said.
Juries were chosen in a matter of days for other high profile cases, such as the trial of B.C. serial killer Robert Picton. But the length of time allotted in the Magnotta case is “probably a precaution,” Skurka noted.
“If it took two weeks it may go down as the longest in history,” he said.
With files from CTV News' Vanessa Lee, CTV Montreal's Rob Lurie and The Canadian Press
Read more: Lawyer for Luka Magnotta looking for 'open-minded' jurors | CTV News
That'll be a tough one given the notoriety of the case! And it looks like the circus is expected to begin Sept 22.
