CRIMES, COURTS, AND COMMENTARY
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all geared to the criminal law student community.
all geared to the criminal law student community.
CLSA Staff
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10/28/2021 0 Comments Jury Selection New and Confused: SCC Upholds Repeal of Peremptory Challenges, Fractures on What Comes NextNicholas Buhite (3L and CLSA Blog Editor) W. S. Gilbert’s illustration for “Now, Jurymen, hear my advice” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury (d. 1911), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. The content below is an unabridged version of an article which was published in Ultra Vires on October 10th, 2021 abridged and with citations omitted. We hope students intending to specialize in criminal law will find this more fulsome version both helpful and interesting, but we recognize it is not for everyone. For those looking for a briefer overview of the issues in this case without delving too deeply into its history, its new procedures and tests, or its practical difficulties, we thoroughly recommend you read the abridged version available on page #10 of Ultra Vires' October 2021 Edition or directly through the following link. IntroductionOn October 7th, 2020, the Supreme Court heard oral submissions in the case of R v Chouhan, 2021 SCC 26. The case turned on the constitutionality of parliament’s abolition of peremptory challenges in jury selection and the retroactive application of that abolition to trials where the defence has already elected to a trial by jury. The court issued an oral judgement, upholding abolition on the same day submissions were heard. Eight and a half months later, the court issued a “fractured”[1] set of reasons disclosing deep divisions regarding the implications of this change.
By Ainslie Pierrynowski
Likewise, since the time awaiting trial occupies a larger proportion of a young person’s life than that of an adult, the psychological impact of a delay can be much more significant for a young accused person. TJM presented an opportunity to mitigate these issues by clarifying how a young person may seek release on bail.
By Teodora Pasca
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