ORDER WAS NOT JUSTICE

Trial by jury is a constitutional right in Canada. When judges
overstep their boundaries and reduce the jury's role to a
"ceremonial" one -- as happened in the case of local pot crusader
Grant Krieger -- a new trial must be ordered.

The Supreme Court properly did that, and unanimously agreed to quash
Krieger's conviction. The decision reaffirmed the considerable role a
jury plays in seeing that justice is done.

The original trial judge, Paul Chrumka, effectively undermined that
duty when he ordered jurors to convict Krieger of possessing
marijuana for the purposes of trafficking, and then said they were
"bound to abide by that direction."

Chrumka erred in that instruction. His comments suggest a disregard
for the competency and judgment of the 12 jurors.

This was compounded when he rejected two jurors' requests to be
excused because their consciences wouldn't allow them to convict
Krieger. As the higher court noted, there's a long precedence of
juries refusing to apply the law if it goes against their consciences.

The judge's behaviour overshadowed the bigger issues of the case, and
resulted in much waste of time and taxpayers' dollars. Krieger, who
has multiple sclerosis, confessed he provided marijuana to others who
have received federal exemption for marijuana use.

He did so only because the federal government isn't providing a
reliable supply of pot for patients who have been given the legal
right to use it for medicinal purposes.

Does that constitute possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking?
Because Chrumka interfered in due process with his directions to
convict, which the Supreme Court said was no "slip of the tongue," a
new jury will now have to determine the answer to that question.