Near-north Ontario, French River | I suspect all the rules, like no talking, single file etc, are in place to prevent the lawyers from claiming the jury was spoiled prior to the trial. While you may very well be 100% neutral and capable of hearing a case without bias , the guy standing in line behind you may not be. If it comes to light that the guy behind you was biased , either for or against the defendant and you were seen to be talking to him/her about the case then one of the lawyers could claim you or the other guy were influenced by the discussion. Whether any influence actually happened is irrelevant, the simple fact that it COULD have happened might be enough get a case tossed. It's a sad fact that its come to that, but all the rules are there for a reason. Someone, at some point in time, said something or did something that ultimately factored into a case and a result a new rule was born. |
Jury duty update
