The Stanley jury was drawn from among more or less local people in a place where there are few cities, and no big ones. The Crown can appeal a criminal jury verdict, but for the most part its hope lies in demonstrating some error in the judge’s instructions. If criminal juries are to be regarded as a mere employment program, they have got to be the crappiest one ever devised. Really now: is the most pressing problem with our criminal justice system that it is too hard to throw poor people in jail? If a bad outcome in a difficult prosecution means disposing of criminal jury trials, we can dispense with the trials along with the juries.

Source: National Post February 12, 2018 17:06 UTC