The following exchange of letters may provide useful information for responding to a summons for jury duty.
November 3, 1989
Dear Citizen:
Your name was selected at random from a municipal enumeration list as being eligible for jury duty. This does not mean that you have actually been chosen to serve on a jury, but only that you have been selected as a prospective candidate for jury service. Your qualifications to serve on a jury will be determined by your answers to the questions on the enclosed questionnaire.
The jury system is the cornerstone of our justice system. Jurors are asked to determine, with the guidance of a judge, questions of fact in either civil or criminal court proceedings. In our democratic society, there is no more valuable and important work than this.
Yours truly,
Ian Scott, Attorney General, Ontario
November 6, 1989
To: Sheriff s Office
Gentlemen:
I have enclosed the “Questionnaire as to Qualifications for Jury Service” recently mailed to me. Although I have filled out the questionnaire and returned it, as instructed, I must respectfully ask for exemption from jury service, based on my religious convictions.
For the past 12 years, I have been an active member of a religious body known as the Christadelphians. This term signifies “Brethren in Christ,” and, as such, we strive to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in all that he has taught and commanded, as revealed in the pages of the Holy Bible. As far as possible, we “submit ourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake” (I Peter 2:13); but if man’s ordinance is found to be in conflict with the commandments of Christ, then our allegiance to Christ must and does take precedence.
Jesus said: “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged…” (Matthew 7:1-2).
The apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore thou are inexcusable, 0 man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself…” (Romans 2:1). And also: “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth…” (Romans 14:4).
James had this to say: “There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?” (James 4:12).
And finally : “Vengeance belongeth unto me,I will recompense, saith the Lord And again, The Lord shall judge his people…” (Hebrews 10:30).
As I see it, these scriptures (and they could certainly be multiplied)would make it impossible for me to perform the duties of a juror properly. As a member of a sequestered jury,I could not express an opinion as to the guilt or innocence of another without compromising and/or violating what I consider to be clear commandments of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and for this reason my inclusion could not help but cause a “hung” jury.
I have nothing against community service in general, and I certainly have no wish to obstruct or impede this country’s justice system. In point of fact, the intend of this letter is to acknowledge the existence of a potential impediment beforehand, so that preventive measures may be taken and inconvenience to the community averted.
I sincerely hope you will find it possible to respect my position in this matter, and to remove my name from your list of qualified potential jurors.
Yours very truly,
David L. Robertson
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