Jury Questions: When To Ask For Reasons - Case Study: Cheung v. Samra 2020 ONSC 4904

Introduction

In Ontario, there is a well-established practice of asking jurors to provide reasons for their verdicts. This practice is grounded in section 108(5) of the Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. 43, which gives trial judges, for jury cases, the discretion to require the jury to give a general verdict or answer specific questions, meaning jurors may be required to explain how or why they arrived at their general verdicts when answering specific questions.

Despite section 108(5), the jury is not absolutely required to provide reasons for their verdicts, even in complex cases. It is deemed that juries understand and correctly apply the instructions provided to them by the trial judge.¹ In other words, there is a presumption of integrity regarding general verdicts; simply because the jury did not explain its verdict is not a ground for appeal.