R V Williams Case Study

R. v. Williams, [1998] 1 S.C.R. 1128

Criminal Law and Supreme Court; McLachlin J.
Facts
An aboriginal by the name of Victor Daniel Williams, was charged in the year 1993 with the robbery of a pizza parlour. He was elected a trial by judge and jury where he pleaded not guilty to the crime. His defence was one of mistaken identity. Nevertheless the jury convicted him of robbery . At his first trial, Williams applied to question potential jurors for racial bias under s. 638 of the Code. In support of his application, he filed materials alleging widespread racism against aboriginal people in Canadian society and an affidavit which stated, in part, “[I] hope that the 12 people that try me

on the right to challenge for cause and a transcript of the jury selection proceedings. Within the document submitted, Esson C.J. found proof which supported the claim that “that natives historically have been and continue to be the object of bias and prejudice which, in some respects, has become more overt and widespread in recent years as the result of tensions created by developments in such areas as land claims and fishing rights”. , Esson C.J. believed that even if a juror held a bias towards a person of aboriginal descent it would not lead towards partiality because they would cast it aside during the trial and solely focus on the facts. He concluded his decision with a cost-benefit analysis in which he stated that “allowing challenges for cause on the basis of racial bias in the community would far outweigh the putative benefit of supposedly fairer trials”. The final conclusion of Esson C.J. is misguided because he disregards the cold, hard facts and places too much faith in the potential jurors. During any given situation, the racial biases someone possesses will not simply go away just because they are in a courtroom. The discriminatory thoughts someone has are deep-rooted so the challenge for cause was necessary in order to remove prejudice from the trial and to prevent Williams from receiving an unfair