Jury Selection Begins in Gustafsen Lake 'Standoff' Trial.
The long process of picking jurors for the trial of the Sundancers involved
in the Gustafsen Lake 'standoff' begins Saturday, June 1 and continues for
six days a week until the whole jury is chosen. Both the Defense and the
Crown have extensive rights to question and dismiss jurors they find
questionable. One of the main concerns is in finding people who have not
been prejudiced by the inaccurate and slanted media coverage that took place
during the 'standoff.' Because the media coverage was extensive and
demonized the Defenders, it is a real concern that jurors be questioned
closely about their attitudes. The types of questions permitted and the
areas they addressed are now under a press ban to keep potential jurors from
considering their answers before they are questioned by the jurors. It has
been hoped that at least 20% of the jurors would be aboriginal people but
this is proving a difficult objective as their are few aboriginal people
living in Surrey. It may be necessary to search for jurors outside of the
Surrey area.
Many of the Defenders have been in the Penatang (? I'm not sure of the
spelling) gathering strength in ceremonies and sweats. As well, everyone
has been helping William Jones Ignace's (Jonsey) wife Flo on the farm by
planting seeds. Jonesy is still in jail charged with attempted murder but
his spirits remain high. He has, in conjunction with Harold Pascal, Glen
Deneault and Bruce Clark just finished a court action requiring Attorney
General Dosanjh to prove jurisdiction. The Judge denied the argument but
two Defenders - Shelagh Franklin and Glen Deneault plan to use the
jurisdiction argument as their defense. Both will be representing
themselves but will be able to get advice from the four Defense lawyers as
well as Dr. Bruce Clark.
The Defense lawyers are: George Wool, an ex-RCMP officer who was in the
force for 20 years; Sheldon Tate who is very precise and thorough, Don
Campbell who is a good original thinker and Harry Rankin who when he was in
the Vancouver City Council for many years always fought tirelessly for the
less powerful. Lawyer George Wool and his wife participated in the
ceremonies this past week and like the other lawyers, understands and
supports the Defenders and their goals.
The RCMP disclosures not only contradict their press releases but also
indicate that there is not much evidence to support their charges against
the Defenders. It is hoped that the press ban will be lifted once the jury
is chosen and the public will get a chance to learn the truth which is quite
different from the media construction architected by the RCMP.
The Defenders are still looking for accomodation in Surrey. There are
several possibilities and fortunately there is money for the rent. They
prefer to stay together to make it easier to hold ceremonies and to arrange
transportation to the trial.
Spirits remain high as the Defenders look forward to the truth coming out.
I am hoping that various Defenders will write something for this list when
they are in town.
The trial is expected to begin in mid June.
posted by FREEMEDIA for TS'PETEN DEFENDERS
I.G. Gauvreau
gauvreau@unixg.ubc.ca