When Gerald Stanley walked out of a Saskatchewan courthouse last week a free man, acquitted in the shooting death of 22-year-old Colten Boushie, the justice system itself was placed on trial in the court of public opinion.

The fallout spilled onto the streets of downtown Yellowknife last Saturday during a rally, as cries of SA国际影视传媒渏ustice for ColtenSA国际影视传媒� were joined by a chorus of calls for answers, reconciliation SA国际影视传媒� and change. Jonathan Park, a defence lawyer left SA国际影视传媒渇uriousSA国际影视传媒� by the verdict, was one of those voices.

"The system is designed in a very specific way. It's built on principles and foundations of white supremacy and SA国际影视传媒� anyone who doesn't fit into that mold is not taken seriously as a person,SA国际影视传媒� said Park.

Underlying prejudices, coupled with inter-generational trauma felt by many in the North, makes it difficult for Indigenous people to make their case in court, said Park.

SA国际影视传媒淚 see white officers take the stand, tell their side of the story and then I see a traumatized Indigenous person try to get up there and tell their story. But the way the stories are told, they're shattered, broken by trauma,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

But not everyone in the legal community believes the outcome in Stanley's second-degree murder trial is as clearly defined by racism and flaws in the justice system.

Garth Wallbridge, a SA国际影视传媒減roudlySA国际影视传媒� Metis lawyer who has practiced law in the NWT for over 25 years, told Yellowknifer he was troubled and SA国际影视传媒渢aken abackSA国际影视传媒� by the not-guilty verdict SA国际影视传媒� but that one case shouldn't be grounds to cite a system-wide breakdown.

SA国际影视传媒淢ost often when a decision comes down that kind of defies logic, from my perspective, I think the lawyers and judge probably didn't do as good a job as I would have liked to imagine they should,SA国际影视传媒� said Wallbridge, adding SA国际影视传媒渢he jury did it's job as it was supposed to.SA国际影视传媒�

But the jury itself SA国际影视传媒� and the process that selected its 12 members SA国际影视传媒� has come under increased scrutiny following Stanley's acquittal. During the trial, no visibly Indigenous people sat on the jurors' bench, as the defence, within its rights under the Criminal Code of Canada, used peremptory challenges during the selection process. Both defence lawyers and Crown prosecutors are able to veto or exclude potential jurors without providing a reason.

The move, a major source of contention in the ongoing social and political fallout following the verdict, has been criticized for opening the door to prejudice by not producing a SA国际影视传媒渏ury of your peers,SA国际影视传媒� a staple in Canadian law.

Wallbridge, however, isn't convinced the longstanding trial procedure played a role in Stanley's acquittal.

SA国际影视传媒� SA国际影视传媒� People need to understand that just because someone has fairly white skin, that doesn't mean, necessarily, they're not Indigenous. So there may have been Indigenous jurors there. I think that's important,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Lorraine Land, a partner at Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP, Canada's largest specialized Aboriginal law firm, deals with land rights and claims, a field, she said, that often intersects with criminal law.

Land wants peremptory challenges done away with SA国际影视传媒� for good.

SA国际影视传媒淚t has to be abolished. Doing away with peremptory challenges (is) a way of guarding against bias and other problems in jury selection. But, it's also something that would benefit the non-Indigenous community as well in terms of people having faith in the system to function fairly,SA国际影视传媒� said Land.

SA国际影视传媒淚t's entirely possible that a jury that was a mix of Indigenous and non-Indigenous jurors may have reached the same verdict, the problem is we'll never know because there was never the opportunity to have that kind of jury with mixed representation,SA国际影视传媒� said Land.

On Tuesday, federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said efforts to combat racism in the justice system in the wake of the Stanley verdict could result in the elimination of peremptory challenges.

But Paul Falvo, a criminal defence lawyer based in Yellowknife, said the prospect of scrapping to procedure could end up hurting the many Indigenous clients he represents.

SA国际影视传媒淚f the federal government is concerned about the use of peremptory challenges, they ought to restrict their use by their own agents. I often see federal prosecutors using peremptory challenges to shape a jury they want, presumably with the aim of procuring a conviction SA国际影视传媒� against an Aboriginal Canadian, in many cases,SA国际影视传媒� stated Falvo in an e-mailed response to Yellowknifer.

On the possibility of strengthened SA国际影视传媒減rosecution toolsSA国际影视传媒� stated Falvo, SA国际影视传媒渋t concerns me how these new measures might affect my Indigenous clients, who already face a powerful juggernaut of prosecution in our justice system SA国际影视传媒�SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淭here is a pain every day in the legal system. Frequently in the North it's Indigenous people charged with crimes against Indigenous people. Many of my clients are themselves survivors, or inter-generational survivors of residential schools SA国际影视传媒� There are no protests when they are prosecuted."

On Wednesday, following calls from Trudeau to undo the SA国际影视传媒渃olonial legacySA国际影视传媒� still ingrained in the country's justice system, Wilson-Raybould announced a new Indigenous framework that would give Indigenous people more autonomy over their land and lives.