why did lawyer choose me for jury

Should my lawyer serve on a jury?

The one thing all attorneys should do, if they can, is serve on a jury. Not a long trial, of course: That would interfere with billables, and year-end bonuses would be seriously at risk. No, what you want is a short trial—criminal is best—so you can be in, out and done in a couple of days.

Why is it important to pick the right jury?

Picking the right jury is the difference between winning and losing a case. The greatest mistake that an attorney will make is trying to find a jury that’s biased towards their side, rather than trying to find one that’s as impartial as possible.

Does the way lawyers pick a jury win or lose cases?

Most lawyers will tell you that the way they pick a jury does not win cases, but it can certainly lose cases if not done correctly. Each lawyer may have a unique style in choosing the best jurors to hear and decide the case.

Does jury selection really matter?

In truth, the methods attorneys use to pick jurors are very specific, and they matter a great deal. The right jury selection can turn a case for or against one side right from the beginning.

How do lawyers persuade the jury?

To persuade, lawyers must appeal to their audience. They must know whom they are trying to convince. In a jury trial, lawyers should establish juror profiles during jury selection to identify individuals likely to render a verdict in their client's favor.

Why would you want a jury?

Juries tend to be easier audiences than judges. Oftentimes, stating your case to a jury can be less pressure than a judge trial. Jurors tend to be less concerned with technical details and more so with listening to a compelling story and making a decision based on who they believe should win under the circumstances.

Should I be nervous for jury?

It's okay to be nervous, nobody is expecting you to be perfect. But in fact, jurors appreciate lawyers who are human and self-deprecating. Don't be afraid of getting nervous, as long as you never let nerves get in the way of your objective in voir dire.

Why do lawyers ask questions of the jurors?

The attorneys can also ask questions designed to uncover characteristics or experiences that might cause potential jurors to favor either the prosecution or the defense. But the lawyers aren't allowed to ask overly personal questions, and they aren't allowed ask the jurors how they would decide the case in advance.

What are the disadvantages of having a jury?

A jury trial may not always ensure the best outcome for every case. There are a number of disadvantages to having a trial by jury. As the people on a jury do not generally have a legal background, it is possible that they may not entirely understand complex legal documents or argument, or in-depth forensic evidence.

What it's like to be on a jury?

Jurors typically spend long periods of time in the assembly room, which is often well-stocked with things like magazines and puzzles. Bring a good book or something else to keep yourself occupied during all the down time. At some point, you'll get called into a courtroom with a group of other potential jurors.

What are 2 things a juror should never do?

Don't lose your temper, try to bully, or refuse to listen to the opinions of other jurors. Don't mark or write on exhibits or otherwise change or injure them. Don't try to guess what might happen if the case you have heard is appealed.

Does anxiety affect jury duty?

An abnormal circumstance of particular relevance is that of serving as a juror. Our research suggests that fear or anxiety about an issue can interfere with an individual's ability to systematically process a persuasive message.

Why is jury duty so stressful?

Jurors also suffer from the sudden and often overwhelming responsibility given to them in a criminal trial. They recognize that they have the duty to drastically change the outcome of the life of one or more human beings. They fear making the wrong decision, and living with the guilt.

What kind of questions are asked of potential jurors?

Example Questions the Lawyers May AskHave you or any member of your family, or a close friend, ever made a claim for personal injuries? ... Have you or any member of your family, or a close friend, ever been a party in a legal proceeding? ... Do you believe there are too many lawsuits?More items...•

What is a jury question?

1) An issue of fact, not law. A question of fact is resolved by a trier of fact, i.e. a jury or, at a bench trial, a judge, weighing the strength of evidence and credibility of witnesses.

Do you get paid for jury duty?

Yes. By law, employers must pay employees who are undertaking jury service. You are considered to be employed or apprenticed during any time when you are absent from your job in order to comply with a jury summons. Note: Your employer is only obliged to pay you for the time you attended at court for jury service.

How do lawyers pick their jurors?

Attorneys don’t get to pick their jurors. Instead, using a mixture of intense questioning, keen observation, and stereotyping, they get to eliminate people they think would hurt their case. “It’s not like a baseball team where you can choose your team members,” says Jeffrey Frederick, Director of Jury Research Services at the National Legal Research Group and author of Mastering Voir Dire and Jury Selection. “It’s not who I want, it’s who I don’t want. What we try to do is think of what backgrounds, life experiences, cognitive styles, opinions, and values jurors might have that would make them less receptive to our case.” Clues like demographics and personality can improve a lawyer’s chance of predicting a juror’s stance on a verdict by up to 15 percent. Here are a few things lawyers take into consideration when trying to figure you out.

What is the question asked by jurors?

One common question presented to jurors is, “Are there any religious beliefs that prevent you from passing judgment on another person?” Frederick says this is to weed out people whose faith might impede their ability to view a case objectively .

What is the hair style of jurors?

Open and receptive jurors, according to the Synchronics Group Trial Consultants, will have hair that is “casual and naturally flowing, rather than highly styled or gelled or plastered to the head … Beards and mustaches will be natural looking, rather than designed and sculpted.” The old adage says you can’t judge a book by its cover, but attorneys will certainly try.

What are some examples of bias in law enforcement?

For example, “if it’s a medical malpractice case and there’s a woman and all of her friends are nurses, that might bias her a little bit,” says Matthew Ferrara, Ph.D, a trial consultant and forensic psychologist. And if you have friends or family in law enforcement, that’s a big red flag. “In a criminal case, relationship to someone in law enforcement is paramount,” Ferrara says. “People who are probation officers, police officers, jailers or are related to the same type of profession would be probably viewed as biased toward the prosecution.”

What does the defense look for in a lawsuit?

The plaintiff attorney or prosecutor will generally look for people more inclined to trust authority.

How to get dismissed from jury?

One quick way to get dismissed from a jury, according to Tom King , a former Deputy Prosecutor in Indiana, is to voice strong opinions about the legal system: “Say, ‘I’ve read about these criminal prosecutions where the police and the prosecutors made up evidence and I just don’t think it’s a fair system.’”

What happens if you don't vibe well with an attorney?

Indeed, research shows that if you don’t vibe well with an attorney, you’re more likely to decide against their argument. “One attorney told me, 'If I can tell they don’t like me, I get rid of them,’” King says.

Why is it important to pick a jury?

Picking a jury is a very important step and requires skill and experience. Most lawyers will tell you that the way they pick a jury does not win cases, but it can certainly lose cases if not done correctly. Each lawyer may have a unique style in choosing the best jurors to hear and decide the case. On the day of a trial ...

What is the ideal jury?

The ideal jury for both sides is one that will decide the case on the evidence and law given to them by the judge, even if they disagree with the law or the evidence personally. Theoretically, the process should be free from personal bias. However, as a practical matter each of us will draw on our own biases and experience to decide the case. This is why it is so important for your lawyer to carefully question the potential jurors to expose any bias or reasons why they may not decide the facts of this case in a fair manner.

What does a plaintiff lawyer want?

For the plaintiff, you usually want someone who is liberal-minded who has no problem awarding money to victims of personal injury. Thus, the plaintiff's lawyer will question the potential jurors on their feelings about lawsuits and people who sue.

How many names are asked in a jury question?

Once the judge concludes the brief questioning, the plaintiff's lawyer is allowed to question the potential jurors. Most courts will call twelve names from the fifty potential jurors seated in the courtroom. Those individuals are asked to come sit in the jury box, where the lawyer's questioning will proceed. Your lawyer will have ...

How many challenges can a judge have to eliminate a jury?

Most states allow each side 6 challenges or strikes to eliminate unwanted jurors for any reason (other than race). Each side may also ask the judge to eliminate jurors for cause. However, the judge has the sole discretion as to whether the reason given is sufficient to amount to a cause to be excused. The lawyers and the judge will decide which jurors are eliminated and which are acceptable to the parties outside of the hearing range of the jury.

How many jurors are there in a trial?

Depending on the court, they usually bring in about 50 potential jurors. Those jurors are assigned numbered seats in the courtroom.

How old do you have to be to be a juror?

These minimum qualifications may include a requirement that a juror be at least 18 years old, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the county or parish where the case is being tried for some period of time, usually one year.

Why is jury selection important?

Some folks have called jury selection the most boring part of any trial, but it may very well be the most important, because from jury selection comes the group of local citizens who will decide the fate of the parties in the case and really decide what the conscience of the community is regarding the issue being tried.

What does it mean when a lawyer asks the court to strike a juror for cause?

It is interesting that in Ohio, if a lawyer asks the Court to strike a juror for cause, meaning the juror has expressed so much bias about the issues and has stated he doesn’t think he could be fair on the case, the lawyer moves to strike the juror out loud in front of all the other jurors.

What is the Georgia jury composition rule?

The Supreme Court of Georgia adopted the Jury Composition Rule (“the Rule”) to effectuate the Jury Composition Reform Act of 2011 (“the Act”), Ga . L. 2011, p. 59. The Act was the product of a seven-year effort by this Court’s Jury Composition Committee, led by then-Justice Hugh P. Thompson, to develop recommended changes to OCGA § 15-12-40.1, related statutes, and the Unified Appeal Procedure used in death penalty cases in order to provide a modern method of preparing the lists from which local courts select grand juries and trial juries. Prior to the enactment of this rule, which became effective in 2013, each county utilized so-called “forced balancing” in an attempt to make its jury lists include men and women and certain identifiable racial groups in proportion to the county’s population as determined by the most recent decennial census. See Williams v. State, 287 Ga. 735, 735-736, 699 S.E.2d 25 (2010), superseded by the Act as noted in Ellington v. State, 292 Ga. 109, 118 n.2, 735 S.E.2d 736 (2012). In some counties with fast-changing demographics, the process left those proportions in the jury pool significantly out of line by the end of the decade. See id. at 738-741, 699 S.E.2d 25 ( Melton, J., dissenting) (criticizing the disparities authorized by the old process). See also Fitch, supra, at 13-14, 16-18 (describing forced balancing and its problems). It was widely believed that the old way of “forced balancing” jury panels in Georgia was unconstitutional. The new Jury Composition Rule sought to eliminate that concern and bring the process of selecting jury panels into constitutional norms. In Ricks v. State, No. S17A0465 __ Ga. ___ ( May 15, 2017), a criminal defendant who was indicted for murder, armed robber, criminal street activity and other crimes was given notice by the State that the State intended to seek the death penalty in the case. Defense Counsel then filed a motion asking the Fulton County trial court to issue an order declaring the manner in which Fulton County selected trial jurors to be in violation of the new Georgia Jury Composition Rule. The trial judge denied the motion and the defendant appealed.

Does Fulton County have a master jury?

Testimony in evidentiary hearings showed that since 2012, the Clerks Council has provided Fulton County with a county master jury list of eligible jurors on July 1 of each year , and the Council’s executive director confirmed in his testimony that the Council has followed the Jury Composition Rule’s mandates, including removal of names based on data regarding felons and deceased persons and based on the counties’ exception lists; detection of duplicates using the detailed algorithm provided in the Rule; and detection of unusable or changed addresses through the National Change of Address database; however, rather than choosing venires from the county master jury list that the Clerks Council provides, as OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (g) directs, Fulton County produces its own jury list using a complicated process developed by its vendor based on outdated guidelines set forth in a local jury management order issued by the chief judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County. The evidence showed the private vendor hired by Fulton Co. would then use its own electronic method to strike numerous jurors who had similar enough names to other jurors who were known to live outside the county, or to be now incapacitated in some way or ineligible in Fulton County someway. Thus, this private electronic software vendor was taking the official juror list and removing names from it without any authority whatsoever. The Supreme Court ruled this to be inappropriate and that Fulton County had been, in fact, violating the Jury Composition Rule in the manner in which it summoned jurors for trial. For Mr. Ricks and others being tried in Fulton County, that means from today forward jury panels should have a more diverse representation. It means that a private software vendor cannot simply pick and choose which names from the official jury list to remove on a whim. This will restore integrity to our entire jury system, both in criminal and civil cases.

How often should a lawyer sit on a jury?

Every lawyer should sit on a jury at least once . This article was written before COVID-19, when jury trials were something of the norm. They are not the norm at the moment but hopefully will be again, whatever their shortcomings and surprises may be. The one thing all attorneys should do, if they can, is serve on a jury.

Can an attorney serve on a jury?

The one thing all attorneys should do, if they can, is serve on a jury. Not a long trial, of course: That would interfere with billables, and year-end bonuses would be seriously at risk. No, what you want is a short trial—criminal is best—so you can be in, out and done in a couple of days. You get the time off, there’s likely an interesting story ...

Did the defense attorney tell us his client forgot they were there?

The defense attorney told us his client forgot they were there; it was his mom’s house, and he didn’t remember they were there when he moved in. The prosecutor put on his witnesses—the two deputies who conducted the search and found the shells. Their testimony didn’t take long, nor did the cross and redirect.

Do attorneys and defendants stand when we leave the room?

The attorneys and the defendant stood when we left the room. Do this—it does not go unnoticed, and it is appreciated.

Is shelling a violation of parole?

The judge sent back the answer: If the shells are there, and we find they were, then it is a violation of his parole if the defendant is also there. That was the law.

Why is jury duty important?

Jury duty is one way that we can give back to our country and help exercise the principles upon which it was founded. The Bill of Rights guarantees the right of the accused to a trial by his peers, and jury duty allows that right to be fulfilled.

Can you be told why you were not chosen to serve?

Lawyers can decide to challenge certain jurors for different reasons — or no reason at all. You may never find out for sure why it was that you were not chosen to serve.

Can you postpone jury duty if you don't vote?

If you pay taxes, buy a home or get a drivers license you are on the list. So even if you don’t exercise your civic duty to vote, you may still be called upon to perform your civic duty as a member of a jury. #2 – you can’t postpone your date of jury duty.

Do judges excuse you from jury duty?

#3 – a judge will excuse you from jury duty if you are biased. Judges won’t excuse you if you have a bias towards the case, but lawyers might.

Is jury duty an obligation?

While some of us relish the opportunity to do our civic duty, many see jury duty as an obligation they would rather avoid. We have friends that tell stories of being on a jury for weeks or others that have been called dozens of times but never selected. There are many jury duty myths that you may have heard but we would like to put these to rest and give you the whole truth and nothing but the truth regarding your stint in the courtroom.

Can you be fired for not being on jury duty?

In the grand scheme of things, not being chosen for one jury will not change your chances for serving down the road. #5 – you can be fired for missing work to attend jury duty. Some people worry about the safety of their jobs when they go on jury duty. After all, there is the potential to miss a lot of work. However, federal law prohibits your ...

Can you postpone jury duty?

When you receive your notice, you can choose to postpone if the date causes you problems. That said, you can’t postpone jury duty indefinitely. If you read your notice, it will clearly explain how you can postpone ...

Who do attorneys speak to in jury selection?

In that instance, the attorneys proceed directly to the jury clerk and let her know we need to speak to the judge in charge of jury selection.

What does it mean when a jury decides in my favor?

If he decides in my favor, that means that this juror will be excused “for cause.”

How many jurors do attorneys have to have to make their first decision?

Once each attorney has an opportunity to chat with the first six jurors, the attorneys go into the hallway to make their first round of decisions.

What happens if you have not been called into a jury room?

If you have not yet been called into a jury room by the end of the day, the jury clerk will tell you if your jury service has ended.

What is the first level of a court?

The first level is the trial court.

What would happen if we didn't ask them?

If we didn't ask them, we would have no way of knowing whether they believe strongly for or against each position.

Do we know if someone has strong opinions about a particular topic?

We wouldn't know if anyone has strong opinions about a particular topic.

What is jury duty?

Firstly, jury duty is simply that. ..a duty. A lot of people are never selected for even the largest pools of prospective jurors. Therefore, you shouldn't look at this duty as an horrific problem to be avoided at all costs.

Why did I get voir dire off a jury?

I got voir dire'ed off a jury because the Judge, attempting to illustrate that anyone can lie, asked who among us had kids.

What is the problem with jury duty?

A major problem of jury duty is the fact that the per diem in most jurisdictions is far less per day than an average person earns. Another problem is that of sequestration in case of a major criminal case. The time away from family and friends and news is surely tedious.

How to get removed from a jury?

For example, knowledge of Jury nullification (the idea that someone did break the law but should go free because the law is wrong) and willingness to use it is grounds for getting removed as a juror.

Can a lawyer reject you from jury duty?

You can’t make a lawyer reject you from jury duty. The only way to not be selected is to be stricken from the panel for cause. “Cause” to be stricken is when you have prejudged the case, prejudged the parties (either the State or the defense in a criminal trial) or are disqualified from serving by having a felony conviction (in some states) or have some physical or mental infirmary.

Can you give an objective verdict?

When asked “Can you give an objective verdict,” just say, “No. I believe the defendant is guilty [or innocent if you want to get bumped by the prosecutor] even though I haven’t heard any evidence, and no evidence presented will deter me from that firm belief.”

Do you get excused for cause every time?

You’ll get excused for cause every time.