Jury selection is the first, and very possibly the most
important part of a jury trial.
Prospective jurors are placed under oath and the judge and attorneys ask
questions to determine if they can be fair and impartial in the trial.
This process, called voire
dire (to speak the truth) seeks to eliminate potential jurors who have
preconceived opinions on how the trial should end up or has prejudices
(conscious or subconscious) which would prevent them from listening to the
evidence and the judge’s instructions on the law.
The questions are usually pretty straightforward: Have you ever served on a jury before? Do you know any of the witnesses? If so, would you be able to consider their
testimony in the same manner as any other witness who may testify? Do you have any problem serving on a jury
that may last X days? Have you been
convicted of a felony? (One juror told
us, under oath, that he was not a felon.
It was only when the jury came in after a four-week trial that we found
out he was a felon. That jury verdict needed to be thrown out…)
In one criminal case I tried, the defendant was Hispanic who
did not speak English. Even today, there
are people who are prejudiced against people of color, so I needed to ask if
there was anyone on the jury panel who could not presume the defendant innocent
simply because of his race. One juror
raised his hand, and said he could not judge a Hispanic fairly and impartially. The juror had an Irish surname.
Naturally, I dismissed the prospective juror from the
panel. But before I did, I said, “It is
really sad that a person of our Irish heritage could be prejudiced against
people coming to this country to find a better life, as our ancestors were
forced from their native land because of a famine. When they reached this land, they, too were
discriminated against. Cartoons in
papers depicted Irishmen as baboons. Help
wanted signs included ‘No Irish Need Apply’.
How is it that we have forgotten the injustice of ignorant prejudice and
become the bigots ourselves?”
(I must admit that the real words I used at the time were
far less eloquent than those above, but the sentiments were identical.)
The vase majority of jurors summoned do their best to set
aside any preconceived notions of how the case should end and promise to listen
to the evidence, apply the law that the judge gives and give a fair an
impartial verdict. THAT is the main
reason why the American system of Justice is the best in the world!
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Next Week: Fleeting
Moments of Beauty
