Marijuana.com

Zilos

VANCOUVER (CP) -- The owner of a now-closed smoke and beverage cafe wants a jury trial for several charges she faces relating to the sale of Marijuana.

Carol Gwilt said Tuesday she wants to be judged before her peers on the issues.

"Because most of the people in this country want cannabis to be legal as I do," Gwilt told reporters outside provincial court.

She said she doesn't see a problem with finding a like-minded jury.

"Well, I had 14,000 people in my store in less than two weeks, so I think I can get 12 people at the court."

Zilos-note: Its Vancouver aka Vansterdam! Finding 12 people will be a breeze, even the mayor wants pot legalized.

Vancouver police raided the Da Kine cafe on Vancouver's trendy Commercial Drive in September after media coverage of the shop.

Gwilt is charged with trafficking Marijuana and benefiting from the proceeds of crime.

She also faces charges of breaking her bail conditions when police arrested her a week after the initial raid.

Zilos-note: Definitely brave! While on bail she was busted with a couple kilos of pot in her car, thank god its Canada!

She spent almost a month in jail after a second arrest before being released on a promise not to contact her co-accused in the case.

Those seven co-accused are the cafe's former employees and they have been charged with trafficking Marijuana.

Police said at the time the cafe was doing about $30,000 a day in business, a claim disputed by Gwilt.

The cafe has since been closed and Gwilt gave up the business licence while she was being held in jail.

A volunteer worker at the cafe said at the time the shop was closed because of pressure from the media, police and community.

No trial date has been set.

Gwilt and her co-accused will be back in provincial court to confirm court dates Dec. 16.

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Buzzby

I don't know anything about the Canadian legal system. In the US the attorneys for both sides get to perform a voir dire, procedure in which each prospective juror is interviewed. The lawyers ask a series of questions to determine if the person is prejudiced (pre-judged) towards either side. The lawyers can eliminate anyone who shows a significant bias. They can also eliminate a certain number of jurors without specific cause. The purpose of this is to select a jury who will make a judgment based on the facts as presented in the trial and nothing else.

This makes me wonder how Carol Gwilt expects to put together a favorable jury. Anyone who says up-front that they favor legalizing medical and/or recreational Marijuana will be eliminated by the prosecution. At least, that's how it works around here.

Could some of our Canadian buddies help me out here? How does the system work in BC?

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Unregistered

In Canada the Jury selection process works very much like in the States. A fair jury should not be a problem to put together as any potential juror biased toward the prohibition side can be excluded by the defense.