Judge orders jury round-up from street

LONDON, Ontario, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A Canadian judge invoked a rare legal option by ordering police to round up jurors from the street outside a London, Ontario, courthouse.

A trial for three men charged with assault, threats and forcible confinement fell one short of the 12 required jurors Monday afternoon after 130 people had been questioned by defense and prosecutors, The London (Ontario) Free Press reported.

Judge Kelly Gorman then ordered police to hit the streets outside the courthouse. She told them to "wrangle up members of the public," all of whom appeared for vetting Tuesday, the QMI news agency reported.

Of the 20 people dragooned, a female bank worker, was chosen for jury duty.

The jury was sent out of the courtroom to wait for most of the day while lawyers made legal arguments, the reports said.

The trial came to an anti-climax for the jurors at 3 p.m., when the three defendants entered guilty pleas and the judge dismissed the jury.