Fort Smith (Feb 28/05) - A Supreme Court trial set for the week of Feb. 7 in Fort Smith was adjourned when 12 people could not be found for a jury.

Only seven were selected.

Defence counsel Lou Sebert notes many potential jurors were excused because of family or other connections with either the accused or the complainant.

There had also been a jury trial the previous week, which decreased the pool of potential jurors.

Sebert says it is the first time in his 20 years of practising law in Fort Smith that a jury could not be constituted.

Crown attorney Sadie Bond notes it is occasionally difficult to gather a jury in communities smaller than Fort Smith.

Russell Sikyea was to stand trial for sexual assault.

No new date has yet been set for the trial, but Sebert is confident enough jurors can be found in Fort Smith.