Recommendations to extend jury boundaries on the island portion of the province put forth by the Office of the High Sherriff have been accepted and are effective immediately, the Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Justice, announced today.

To increase the pool for potential jurors, Minister Osborne instructed the Office of the High Sheriff to engage in an extensive review of jury boundaries. "The boundaries for the catchment areas had not been evaluated for at least 15 years and, given the changes in demographics and a recent decision by Supreme Court Justice Adams, a review of jury boundaries was required," said Minister Osborne.

The geographic boundaries for the purposes of those persons subject to being summoned for jury duty are set out in section 11 of the Jury Act. The minister said the new jury boundaries build upon the recent and comprehensive review of the jury administration system that was carried out across the province. "By increasing the size of the catchment areas, we are improving the ability to call jury pools and select juries," said Minister Osborne.

As a result of the comprehensive review, the minister previously announced that the Department of Justice would hire a dedicated employee to ensure the day-to-day operational management of the jury selection database is performed. A 1-800 number has been created to provide potential jurors further information and updates. The jury list has been updated to consist of data from MCP records, Vital Statistics, the Motor Vehicle Registration database and information from the Chief Electoral Office.

"The ability to assemble a representative jury pool is necessary to ensure the proper administration of justice in the province," said Minister Osborne. "I am very pleased with the work of officials in the department to implement these changes. Increasing the size of jury boundaries is another tool government is using to ensure justice in our province is being fairly administered."

For more information on jury boundaries visit, //www.hoa.gov.nl.ca/hoa/regulations/rc070088.htm

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2007 08 10                                                    12:15 p.m.