By Andre Ramshaw
April 30, 1997
A North Vancouver woman who served as a juror in a celebrated murder trial is soon to feature in her own legal drama.
In what is believed to be a Canadian, if not a North American first, 41-year-old Gillian Guess is being accused of obstructing justice by carrying on an affair with an accused murderer while serving on the jury at his trial.
Yesterday the mother of two elected trial by jury at her preliminary hearing before provincial court Judge Elizabeth Arnold in Vancouver.
The Crown has been granted a ban on publication during the hearing.
But outside court on Monday, Guess said: "I have never obstructed justice. I am not a criminal."
She said she is totally confused as to why she is being charged: "I have no idea of what the crime is I've committed."
Defence lawyer Peter Ritchie accused the Crown of being in a "rush to justice" and said he needed more time to talk with his client and to review extensive police notes.
But Judge Elizabeth Arnold denied Ritchie's application for an adjournment, saying the police evidence will not be called until late in the trial and that other issues can be dealt with in a voir dire -- a trial within a trial.
Crown counsel Joe Bellows intends to call wiretap evidence of conversations recorded at the home of Guess and her sister.
Ritchie called the operation "massive" and said he needs time to advise his client.
Ritchie repeatedly suggested that the Crown was guilty of not properly disclosing relevant information and not fully outlining charges it is bringing against Guess.
But Bellows said the Crown will show that Guess had a personal relationship with Peter Gill while he was on trial for murder.
Gill and five co-accused were acquitted by a jury in 1995 of the murders of Ron and Jimmy Dosanjh.
It is alleged that Guess had an affair with Gill while he was out on bail during the eight-month trial. When the trial ended, Guess publicly criticized police for their handling of the case.
The Crown intends to call six former jurors to show that Guess was making eye contact with Gill in court and was seen talking with him outside the courthouse.
Guess is charged with wilfully obstructing and perverting justice. She is believed to be the first former juror in North America to face such charges.
Despite efforts by Ritchie to postpone the trial, Judge Arnold wants it to go ahead as quickly as possible.
Prosecutor Bellows said the fact Guess had a relationship with Gill will be sufficient proof that she violated the juror's oath to be impartial.
But Ritchie called the oath vague and imprecise. He said the Crown's indictment against Guess amounted to a "mere theory" rather than a charge.
"We seem to be thrusting quickly to a trial in this matter," the defence lawyer said. "It leaves me in a state of perplexion as to how I'm going to defend my client."
Ritchie added that Guess, who currently has two children and no source of income, would like to get the trial under way but must first be fully aware of what defence strategies she can mount.
"This case is somewhat like a changing landscape," he said.
But Bellow said., "It's a novel offence but it's not complicated."
Guess, who who wore a cream suit with high-heeled shoes, fiddled with beads and a necklace during the day and often walked up to talk with Ritchie.
At one point, when the judge told her she would be compelled to decide on Tuesday what form of trial she chose, Guess blurted out something but was swiftly silenced by her lawyer.
At the time she was serving as a juror in the Dosanjh case, Guess was working as a victim assistance counsellor with the North Vancouver RCMP.
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