How was Conrad Black’s jury selected?
In Canada, defence attorneys and Crown prosecutors are equally entitled to a maximum of 20 peremptory challenges each when the defendant is accused of an extremely serious crime, such as first-degree murder or treason.
In the case of an offence that carries a prison sentence of five years or more, such as attempted murder or manslaughter, both sides are allotted 12 peremptory challenges. Where the accused is charged with a lesser offence, four challenges are allowed. In cases where there are multiple defendants, each side receives 12 peremptory challenges.
Generally in the United States, the defence gets 10 peremptory challenges and the prosecution get six. However, there is wide-ranging judicial discretion that allows judges to increase the number of strikes if there are multiple defendants, if the case is complex, whether it is a criminal or civil case and if a trial is expected to last more than a few weeks.
In the case of Conrad Black, Peter Atkinson, Jack Boultbee and Mark Kipnis, U.S. federal court judge Amy St. Eve granted a total of 18 strikes to the four defendants and 16 to the prosecution.
