Jury Trial
A jury trial is a criminal trial in which a panel of 12 ordinary citizens — the jury — serves as the trier of fact and decides guilt or innocence. The judge presides over the trial, rules on legal issues, and instructs the jury on the law; the jury decides what happened and applies the law to the facts. Jury trials in Ontario take place in the Superior Court of Justice and are available for most indictable offences.
Mass Tsang's criminal lawyers handle jury trials across the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario.
Right to a jury — section 11(f)
Section 11(f) of the Charter guarantees the right to trial by jury for offences carrying a maximum penalty of imprisonment of 5 years or more. The right is fundamental, but it does not apply to summary conviction offences or to less serious indictable offences below the 5-year threshold. For offences requiring a Superior Court trial (murder, treason), a jury is the default unless the accused and the Attorney General agree to judge alone under section 473.
Composition and selection
A Canadian criminal jury consists of 12 jurors. Jury selection — voir dire — begins with a pool of prospective jurors summoned by the court. Counsel for both sides have peremptory challenges (now abolished by Bill C-75 in 2019, replaced with a stand-aside mechanism) and challenges for cause. The selection process can range from a single day to several days for high-profile or complex cases.
Unanimity
Canadian criminal juries must reach a unanimous verdict — all 12 jurors must agree. Where unanimity cannot be achieved, the jury is hung and a mistrial is declared. The Crown can then choose whether to retry the case. The unanimity requirement is one of the protections that makes jury verdicts highly probative — it requires every juror to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt.
Jury process
After opening statements, the Crown calls its evidence; the defence cross-examines; the defence then calls any evidence; the Crown cross-examines. Counsel deliver closing arguments — Crown then defence — and the judge instructs the jury on the law. The jury then deliberates in secrecy. Jury deliberations cannot be later disclosed under section 649 of the Criminal Code.
Strategic considerations
Jury trials suit cases with: a sympathetic defence narrative; complex factual disputes that benefit from collective decision-making; community values issues; and weak prosecution evidence that might struggle against a unanimity requirement. They are riskier where the case requires sustained engagement with technical legal issues, where Charter motions dominate, or where unsympathetic facts might inflame jurors.
Related glossary terms
