Provincial Offences Statute Law Amendment Act (Jury Trials), 2013 Hillier, Randy — Bill 121 (40th Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 121, 40-2

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Bill 121, Provincial Offences Statute Law Amendment Act (Jury Trials), 2013

Hillier, Randy

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[40] Bill 121 Original (PDF)

Bill 121 2013

Act respecting jury trials for provincial offences

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Provincial Offences

Act

1. The

Provincial Offences Act is amended by adding the

following sections:

Jury

trial

46.1

(1) A

defendant may elect to be tried by a court composed of a judge and jury if any

of the following circumstances exist:

1. A

conviction for the offence may be punishable by,

i. a

fine of $25,000 or more,

ii. seizure

of property, or

iii. a

term of imprisonment.

2. The

defendant can demonstrate that there is a reasonable likelihood that a

conviction for the offence charged would result in,

i. the

revocation or suspension of a registration, licence or other similar status

that authorizes the defendant to engage in a profession, or

ii. the

termination or suspension of a licence, registration, permit or other approval that

relates to the defendant's business, the business of a partnership of which the

defendant is a partner or the business of a corporation of which the defendant

is an officer or director.

Exception,

trial re capacity to conduct defence

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a

trial undertaken for the purposes of

section 44.

Timing

of request

(3) The defendant shall make the election

described in subsection (1) when entering a plea.

Multiple

offences

(4) A court may, before trial, where it is

satisfied that the ends of justice so require, direct that separate offences be

tried together by a court composed of a judge and jury if the defendant has

made an election described in subsection (1) with respect to any of the

offences.

Composition

of jury

46.2

(1) If

a proceeding is tried with a jury, the jury shall be composed of 12 persons

selected in accordance with the Juries Act .

Discharge

of juror at trial

(2) The judge presiding at a trial may

discharge a juror on the ground of illness, hardship, partiality or other

sufficient cause.

Continuation

of jury

(3) If a juror dies or is discharged, the

judge may direct that the trial proceed with the remaining jurors.

Verdict

46.3

(1) After

the trial, the judge shall require the jury to give a verdict and the judgment shall

be entered in accordance with the verdict.

Verdict

to be unanimous

(2) The jury's verdict must be unanimous.

Disagreement

of jury

(3) If the judge is satisfied that the jury

is unable to agree on its verdict and that further deliberation would be

useless, the judge may discharge the jury and direct a new jury to be

empanelled during the sittings of the court or adjourn the trial on such terms

as justice may require.

Section

57 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Jury

recommendations re sentencing

(5) If a proceeding is tried by a court

composed of a judge and jury, the jury may provide recommendations for the

purpose of assisting the court in imposing sentence.

Juries Act

3. The

Juries Act is amended by adding the

following section:

Regulations,

Lieutenant Governor in Council

37.1 The

Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing any

modifications that are necessary for the application of this Act to a jury

trial in the Ontario Court of Justice for the purposes of a proceeding under

the Provincial Offences Act .

Commencement and Short

Title

Commencement

4. This

Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short

title

5. The

short title of this Act is the Provincial Offences Statute

Law Amendment Act (Jury Trials), 2013 .

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill amends the Provincial Offences Act by allowing

persons charged with an offence to elect to be tried by a court composed of a

judge and jury if any of the following circumstances exist:

1. The

penalty for the offence includes a fine of $25,000 or more, seizure of property

or a term of imprisonment.

2. There

is a reasonable likelihood that a conviction would result in the termination or

suspension of a professional registration or licence or a business licence,

registration, permit or other approval.

jury is composed of 12 persons selected in accordance with the Juries Act .

The

jury is required to give a unanimous verdict. If the jury cannot agree, the

judge may adjourn the trial or discharge the jury and direct the empanelling of

new jury.

The

jury may make recommendations relating to sentencing.

The

Juries Act is amended to enable the Lieutenant

Governor in Council to make regulations concerning the application of the Act

to a jury trial under the Provincial Offences Act .

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

October 22, 2013

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

October 22, 2013

Committee

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

Acts affected - Bill 121

Most Ontario public acts are available electronically; to view copies of the Acts to be amended by this bill visit e-laws

Provincial Offences Act

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

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Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 121, 40-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p40 s2 bill 121 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	56f6f3959cced9916ccb7334ac2fb9121d890064

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (html).