Two Yukon residents were slapped with fines for failing to appear for jury selection in the trial of Christopher Cornell, convicted earlier this month of the attempted murder of an RCMP officer.

The individuals failed to obey a jury summons to appear at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre on Sept. 9, putting them in breach of a court order.

"The court has an inherent jurisdiction to send someone to jail as a punishment for that contempt,” said Yukon Supreme Court Justice Leigh Gower.

"It is a very serious matter when you are served with a jury summons.”

Gower handed down a $100 fine to a person identified by the court as J.R.

The court had given J.R. a pass for previously failing to attend jury selection for the trial of Norman Larue, found guilty of first-degree murder after a three-month trial this past summer.

J.R. was put back on the rotation – customary after disregarding a first-time jury summons — only to ignore the second summons.

The second absentee, C.T., was fined the minimum $25 under the Jury Act.

"If you fail to appear and fail to pay the fine, then I am going to send the sheriff looking for you and they will arrest you. OK?” Gower warned the woman during his ruling last month.

The sheriff's office sent out 440 summonses to potential jurors, more than half of whom were excused by the court prior to the trial.

About 145 Yukoners showed up at Mount Mac on the morning of Monday, Sept. 9, to undergo the selection process out of roughly 185 people ordered to attend.

The centre was chosen for jury selection because of its additional seating capacity.

Gower excused scores of jury candidates before the Crown prosecutor and defence lawyer began the selection process.

Some potential jurors told the judge that sitting on a jury panel for a three-week trial would create a financial hardship or a hardship for their families.

Others claimed a personal relationship with either the accused or one or more of the potential witnesses, whose names were provided.

Gower told attendees that juries are a cornerstone of Canada's judicial system.

Because of the length of the trial, which could cause issues if a juror became ill, for example, 14 jurors instead of the usual 12 were chosen to hear the case.

On Oct. 3, they found Cornell guilty of attempting to murder Haines Junction RCMP Cpl. Kim MacKellar by shooting at him during a high-speed chase on Sept. 26, 2011.

Cornell was also found guilty of attempting to murder deputy conservation officer Shane Oakley, who was with MacKellar when he responded to a call of a break-in at Madley's General Store in the Junction.

He was found guilty of using violence and bear spray to rob Madley's as well, on top of several other criminal charges.