In a previous blog post, we discussed the possibility of a new trial being granted to Christopher Husbands. Husbands was the perpetrator in the 2012 Eaton Centre shootings, which killed two people. Husbands was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder in 2015.
Recently, Husbands argued that his 2015 trial was prejudiced as a result of an improperly selected jury, and as such, he argued that he was entitled to a new trial.
Last Friday, the Ontario Court of Appeal agreed. The Court overturned Husbands' convictions as a result of the trial judge's "irreparable mistake" with regards to the jury selection.
As discussed in the previous post on this issue, in the 2015 trial, static jurors were imposed by the trial judge, despite Husbands' lawyers' request for rotating jurors. The Court of Appeal acknowledged that Husbands' request was clear, and the trial judge was wrong to have imposed static jurors. According to the Court of Appeal, "In accordance with the current state of the law... what occurred here cannot be salvaged."
This decision comes as little surprise, as the Court of Appeal has made the law clear on this point: the improper use of static jurors will render a conviction voidable ( R v Noureddine).
As the Noureddine decision stems from the highest court in Ontario, it is binding on all lower courts in the Province.
It is the trial judge's failure to follow Noureddine that has led to the overturning of Husbands' convictions. Yet, it is likely to take more than a year before a new trial for Husbands gets underway.
As Husbands was acquitted on the charge of first-degree murder, his new trial will be on the charges of second-degree murder, as well as aggravated assault and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
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