12 jurors selected for Matthew Raymond fitness hearing

Twelve jurors were selected Tuesday at the fitness hearing of accused Fredericton shooter Matthew Vincent Raymond.

The eight women and four men who were chosen make up a full jury panel, but two more jurors are needed to serve as alternates.

Raymond, 49, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of constables Sara Burns andRobbCostello and DonnieRobichaudand Bobbie Lee Wright. They were killed the morning of Aug. 10, 2018,at an apartment building onBrooksideDrive on Fredericton's north side.

The jurors will decide whether Raymond is fit to stand trial.

The 12 jurors chosen Tuesday came from thefirst 56people who appeared before the judge, Crown, defence and a mini-jury of two people.

The mini-jury was chosen from the jury pool at the beginning of the day to help the court decide if each potential juror wasacceptable.

Other details about what took place, including the questions asked ofeach potential juror and the answers,are under a publication ban issued by Justice Fred Ferguson of the Court of Queen's Bench.

Number of challenges

During jury selection, the Crown made seven peremptory challenges, andthe defence made two. Each side has 22 available to them so "nobody has been excessive," Ferguson said.

The lawyers in this case could use peremptory challenges to remove a potential juror without providing reasons.

Court will reconvene Wednesday morning for selection of the last two jurors. It will likely not take all day to choose them, Ferguson said, so the rest of the day will likely be used to begin presenting evidence.

Almost 800 people came tothe Grant-Harvey Centre on Monday to beregistered as potential jurors. They were randomly split into groups of 50, and two groups were given times to show up at the Fredericton Courthouse on Tuesday.

Raymond'strial on four counts of first-degree murder was originally scheduled for Monday but was delayed to make time for the fitness hearingbecause of his behaviour in court.

On Monday, Raymondwas removed from the makeshift court in the arena because he was yelling over the lawyers and court clerk. He was sent to another room where he could see and hear proceedings but people in the rink couldn't hear him.

On Tuesday, he appeared in court but for most of the proceedings was held elsewhere in the building.

When thetrial on the criminal charges proceeds will depend on what the jury decides.Once the issue of fitness is determined, and remedied if needed,there will be a trial, Ferguson said.

The question of fitness to stand trial addressesthe accused's current mental state and not the accused's state of mind during an alleged crime. It isdistinct from criminal responsibility.

If a defendant is found fit to stand trial, it means they are consideredcapable of understanding court proceedings and of defending themselves, either on their ownor through a lawyer.