Municipal council members should be exempt from jury duty, Union of BC Municipalities delegates voted at their annual convention Sept. 15.
Delegates heard the Jury Act disqualifies members of the Legislative Assembly and members of Parliament from jury duty, but does not include local government elected officials.
And, the resolution said, local government elected officials actively lobby for legislative amendments, oversee their RCMP detachments’ work plans and are privy to sensitive information that could create a real or perceived conflict of interest if required to participate on a jury in their local government.
As such, delegates voted 53.1% in favour of lobbying Victoria to amend the Jury Act to disqualify local government elected officials from jury duty.
