Virus pauses jury pools in Toronto, Brampton and Ottawa

Jury selection in Brampton, Toronto and Ottawa is being suspended for the next 28 days after the premier announced a return to a modified Stage 2 in response to significant increases in COVID-19 cases.

“I have made the difficult decision that our Court must adjust our operations in those three centres,” Superior Court Justice Geoffrey Morawetz said in a statement posted on the ontariocourts.ca website Saturday.

Courthouses will remain open and the decision to continue matters that are already in progress, including jury trials, will be made by the presiding judge, the statement said.

In addition, in person, nonjury trials and other in-person proceedings — including civil and family cases — in Brampton, Toronto and Ottawa can proceed as scheduled in-person if they are limited to 10 persons or less in the courtroom.

“However, efforts should be made to hear matters remotely, wherever possible,” Morawetz said.

As well, Morawetz said he has encouraged all judicial officers “to be flexible and to respect the various reasons why an individual may not be comfortable attending a courthouse in person.”

“I wish to thank the Recovery Secretariat for the enormous efforts made in the past months to resume court operations and jury matters. It has been a monumental task,” the statement said.

“This is a very difficult time. I did not make these decisions lightly. We must continue to do what we can to move matters forward, but also to make every effort to support public health efforts to stabilize the situation.”

Ontario’s criminal justice system resumed jury trials last month after their pandemic-induced suspension in March. In addition to implementing safety protocols in courthouses, the province has been holding offsite selection at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Both criminal and civil courts are now routinely operating by phone and video conference in a way unheard of before the pandemic.