Sheriffs scour Whitehorse streets looking for potential jurors

Yukon sheriffs were on the streets of Whitehorse Friday looking for jurors to serve in a murder trial.

Christina Marie Asp is charged with first degree murder in connection with the death of a local man in 2008. Sheriffs are looking for 20 more potential jurors after lawyers interviewed more than 160 prospective candidates and came up two short.

A Supreme Court judge ordered sheriffs to find more candidates. They confronted this woman, who cannot be identified, on Main Street Friday morning.

"I questioned them. I said You're taking people off the street today? And they said 'yes we are', and I didn't ask but I should have, Did I have to give them my name? and I did give them my name and my contact number and I will appear Monday morning," she said.

Fourteenjurors have been picked, but two more spares are needed. The trial is scheduled to begin Monday morning soon after the last jurors are picked. The trial is expected to last three months.

Many of the potential jurors were disqualified because of financial hardship, bias or they knew people involved in the case.

It has been impossible in the past in some cases to put together juries in Yukons smaller communities because most people know each other. But its rare in Whitehorse which has a population well over 20,000 people.