B.C. judge excuses juror for criminal negligence trial involving ferry sinking
VANCOUVER - A second juror has been discharged from duty in the criminal trial of a former BC Ferries officer in connection with the sinking of the Queen of the North.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein told the remaining jurors a matter has arisen in which she had to excuse the juror for personal reasons.
The judge told the remaining 12-member jury that the reasons for the dismissal weren't important.
The trial — which is expected to last into the summer — is the first in B.C. Supreme Court where a jury of 14 was initially selected, based on changes to the law aimed at ensuring long trials would not be disrupted.
The decision comes in the midst of cross-examination of Keven Hilton, who was the Second Officer on the ship and had recently handed off navigation duties to his junior officer, Karl Lilgert, before the crash occurred.
Lilgert is accused of criminal negligence causing the deaths of two passengers who didn't make it off the ship when it struck an island and sank off B.C.'s coast in 2006.
