Prepared By: Susan E. Jones, Ph.D.
Making solid, successful
challenge decisions depends upon obtaining honest, accurate
information about prospective jurors' attitudes, beliefs and
experiences. Traditionally, attorneys have relied upon oral voir dire
to elicit information from veniremen. Each panelist, in turn, is
typically asked the same questions. The attorney then quickly
scribbles a few notes to summarize the answers. Most questions pertain
to basic demographic information. Questions on sensitive issues are
rarely, if ever, posed for fear of embarrassing a juror. For example,
in cases where psychological injury is claimed, it would be of great
value to both sides to understand each juror's past experience(s)
with psychiatrists and/or psychologists. Further, having some idea of
whether those experiences were positive or negative would be
invaluable. However, asking a prospective juror, in open court, if
they have ever consulted a psychiatrist or a psychologist is
difficult, and potentially disastrous, and thus, is most often
avoided.
In order to gain accurate
information from jurors without lengthy voir dire, the courts are
increasingly allowing the use of Prospective Juror Questionnaires.
These questionnaires not only elicit extraordinarily candid
information about panelists' background and experiences, but they
allow the voir dire to be more focused, thus expediting the entire
jury selection process.
Questionnaires cover seemingly
routine background information, but go much further. For example,
questions about household income, political affiliation, memberships
in community organizations, occupations of extended family members,
and frequently read newspapers, are included. In addition,
case-specific questions are developed. In personal injury cases,
details of injuries among family members and friends are explored, as
well as possible relationships to the medical and legal professions.
Open-ended questions ask jurors to express their opinions on a number
of important issues and consistently yield a wealth of information
that jurors rarely volunteer in open court. It has been our experience
that jurors provide far more insightful information on their written
questionnaires than they do verbally in court. Most people are nervous
and uncomfortable speaking publicly, and as a result, provide rather
cursory information.
Perhaps most importantly,
questionnaires provide insight about a prospective juror's leadership
potential on the panel. By evaluating jurors' past experiences in
leadership roles, the attorney can more accurately assess how vocal a
particular juror is likely to be during deliberations.
The administration of a
questionnaire requires little disruption to the court. The party
initially preparing the questionnaire submits it to the opposing
counsel for review. Questions are added if opposing counsel so
desires. The judge gives panel members instructions for completing the
questionnaire and stresses the importance of doing so completely. Most
jurors complete the questionnaire in 20 to 30 minutes. Hardship
excuses are often heard while questionnaires are being completed.
Questionnaires are duplicated and ideally, the attorneys are given an
evening to review and evaluate them. Oral voir dire consists of
follow-up questions and questions the attorney specifically wants to
ask orally in order to observe juror's while they respond.
By combining the information
obtained from Prospective Juror Questionnaires with in-court
observations of jurors' behavior during oral voir dire, attorneys can
make far more accurate evaluations of prospective jurors. We have been
startled by the accuracy of our predictions when both sources of
information are combined. Questionnaires are a valuable tool, allowing
the attorney to make more astute challenge decisions while saving
valuable court time.
Selecting
Better Juries: 
