- Gillian Guess
Gillian Guess (born 1955) is a
Vancouver woman who was convicted of obstruction of justice after becoming romantically involved with a murder defendant while she was a juror in his trial. Her case is significant because it set legal precedents in three areas of Canadian Law: Her case is the first known case where a juror has had sexual relations with a murder defendant after his trial, the only case where a juror has faced criminal sanction for the decision they have made, and the only case in Canadian law where jury room discussions were made part of the public record.Police allegations
According to the
Vancouver Police Department , Peter Gill (also known as Preet Sarbjit Gill) and his brother-in-law ran a gang involved in the drug trade inVancouver . Police believe that in February 1994, the gang lured Jinsher Dosanjh (aged 26) to an alley, where they murdered him with machine guns. Two months later, this gang allegedly also murdered Dosanjh's brother Ranjit. [Wood, Chris. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0011708 "Affair of the Court"] , Macleans,May 25 1998 .]"Regina v. Gill"
Peter Gill was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Five of his associates, Bhupinder Johal, Rajinder Kumar Benji, Michael Kent Budai, Ho Sik (Phil) Kim, and Sun News Lal were tried with him on the murder charges. The trial began on February 27, 1995 and lasted eight months. It was one of the longest, most expensive and most complicated trials in British Columbia history. [Honourable Mr. Justice Davies. [http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/sc/02/09/2002bcsc0977.htm "Regina v. Gill"] , British Columbia Supreme Court,
July 2 2002 .] Gillian Guess was selected to serve as a juror for the murder trial. During the trial, Guess and Gill started a relationship that became sexual.Relationship between Guess and Gill
Guess was quickly attracted to Gill, who was a man 10 years younger than she. She would stare at him, and according to court clerk Emma Hyde, "She would flip her hair and look seductive". [Wood, Chris. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0011728 "Guess Guilty of Obstruction"] , Macleans,
July 1 1998 .] Later Gill approached Guess at McDonalds and told her he was innocent of the charges. [Honourable Mr. Justice Davies. [http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/sc/02/09/2002bcsc0977.htm "Regina v. Gill"] , British Columbia Supreme Court,July 2 2002 .] Sometime later the two started to flirt outside the court room. Gill pursued the relationship, and Gill and Guess had intimate conversation and kissed inStanley Park . The relationship became sexual. [Honourable Mr. Justice Low. [http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/ca/00/06/c00-0602.htm "Regina v. Guess"] , British Columbia Court of Appeal,November 2 2000 .] Guess said, "My attraction to him was a complete intoxication...I got to the point where I couldn't see straight. It just became an obsession." [Wood, Chris. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0011728 "Guess Guilty of Obstruction"] , Macleans,July 1 1998 .]Court officers informed the judge of the inappropriate behaviour, and the Honorable Judge Braidwood warned Peter Gill about his behaviour, but he never talked to Gillian Guess. [Honourable Mr. Justice Davies. [http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/sc/02/09/2002bcsc0977.htm "Regina v. Gill"] , British Columbia Supreme Court,
July 2 2002 .] The relationship continued, and when Gillian Guess asked Peter Gill if she should find a way to get off the jury, he told her to stay. [Honourable Mr. Justice Davies. [http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/sc/02/09/2002bcsc0977.htm "Regina v. Gill"] , British Columbia Supreme Court,July 2 2002 .] He also told her to convict two of his co-defendants, but not him. [Honourable Mr. Justice Davies. [http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/sc/02/09/2002bcsc0977.htm "Regina v. Gill"] , British Columbia Supreme Court,July 2 2002 .]Peter Gill's diary
Gill kept a diary which recorded his relationship with Gillian Guess. The following are statements he made in his diary:
"Bad hair Monday juror. I get the feeling somebody's watching me." [Ivens, Andy. [http://www.levellers.org/jrp/orig/jrp.guessdiary.htm "'Guess Noted in Gill Diary'"] , The Province,1998.]
"She's still making eye contact." [Ivens, Andy. [http://www.levellers.org/jrp/orig/jrp.guessdiary.htm "'Guess Noted in Gill Diary'"] , The Province,1998.]
"Juror is not making eye contact. Saw me with wife, son." [Ivens, Andy. [http://www.levellers.org/jrp/orig/jrp.guessdiary.htm "'Guess Noted in Gill Diary'"] , The Province,1998.] "Every time someone walks in, she is looking to see if I look and if it's a female she stares." [Ivens, Andy. [http://www.levellers.org/jrp/orig/jrp.guessdiary.htm "'Guess Noted in Gill Diary'"] , The Province,1998.]
"After reading this, smile and look at juror. The reporter's looking at us. Guess Jeans (and a drawing). Guess." [Ivens, Andy. [http://www.levellers.org/jrp/orig/jrp.guessdiary.htm "'Guess Noted in Gill Diary'"] , The Province,1998.] "See guard. He keeps looking to see if we're looking at chick number one in jury." [Ivens, Andy. [http://www.levellers.org/jrp/orig/jrp.guessdiary.htm "'Guess Noted in Gill Diary'"] , The Province,1998.]
Police investigation of Gillian Guess
Several months after the acquittal of Peter Gill, Vancouver Police saw Guess and Gill dancing together at a night club. Police investigated, and placed secret surveillance devices in Guess' home, and tapped her phone. [Wood, Chris. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0011708 "Affair of the Court"] , Macleans,
May 25 1998 .] They recorded her admitting to others, including her daughter, that she had been involved in a romantic relationship with Gill while she was a juror at his trial."Regina v. Guess"
In 1998, Crown prosecutor Joseph Bellows laid an obstruction of justice charge against Gillian Guess, arguing she had violated s. 139 (2) of the Canadian Criminal Code . [Honourable Mr. Justice Low. [http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/ca/00/06/c00-0602.htm "Regina v. Guess"] , British Columbia Court of Appeal,
November 2 2000 .] Guess pleaded not guilty.Guess seemed to enjoy all the media attention she received during the trial, and she seemed determined to prove that she had done nothing illegal. She said, "After eight months even the trial judge started looking good," and that "It didn't matter if I had sex with all the accused and everyone in the public gallery." [Cunningham, David. [http://www.axion.net/bcreport/web/980713f.html "No Apologies"] , B.C. Report Magazine, 1998.]
Gillian Guess was convicted of obstruction of justice because other jurors claim she harassed them into acquitting Gill. After being convicted she said, "I have been convicted for falling in love and nothing more. I have not committed a crime" . [Wood, Chris. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0011728 "Guess Guilty of Obstruction"] , Macleans,
July 1 1998 .] She was sentenced to 18 months in prison, plus one year of probation . [Honourable Mr. Justice Low. [http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/ca/00/06/c00-0602.htm "Regina v. Guess"] , British Columbia Court of Appeal,November 2 2000 .] She appealed her sentence, but the appeal was dismissed on November 2, 2000.Retrial for Peter Gill
In May 2001, Peter Gill and his associates Mr. Budai and Mr. Kim were ordered to be retried by the British Columbia Court of Appeal on the first degree murder charges . [Honourable Mr. Justice Davies. [http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/sc/02/09/2002bcsc0977.htm "Regina v. Gill"] , British Columbia Supreme Court,
July 2 2002 .] However, the Crown never retried them. Instead, Peter Gill was convicted for obstruction of justice. He received a sentence of six years in prison . [Honourable Mr. Justice Davies. [http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/sc/02/09/2002bcsc0977.htm "Regina v. Gill"] , British Columbia Supreme Court,July 2 2002 .]Media coverage
The trial of Gillian Guess became a media sensation, with reporters coming as far away as Germany and New Zealand to cover the trial. [Cunningham, David. [http://www.axion.net/bcreport/web/980713f.html "No Apologies"] , B.C. Report Magazine, 1998.] The Gillian Guess story was also told on the news magazine show
Inside Edition , and on the ABC News Show20/20 . Gillian Guess was also photographed forMarie Claire magazine [Cunningham, David. [http://www.axion.net/bcreport/web/980713f.html "No Apologies"] , B.C. Report Magazine, 1998.]Her story was eventually made into a movie named "The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424247/
Gillian Guess in her own words
In 1998, Gillian Guess wrote an article in a
Simon Fraser University campus newspaper named "The Peak." Here are her own words about her experience.http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/98-3/issue10/stoned.html
References
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Smith and Chymyshyn v. Knights of Columbus and Hauser and Lazar "
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