A discussion of jury selection from The Armed Attorneys

[Old Dog]

So what is left, a bench trial where the Head Lawyer decides?

Good question. Thing is, one will never get a "jury of one's peers" anymore. Our communities are too fragmented, the generation gap is wider than ever, history and civics are no longer taught in the schools, and one could argue, the woke emphasis on "diversity" in seemingly every aspect of our lives seems to have a negative impact on compromise, consensus-building and agreement on anything in general, particularly if one is concerned about actual facts.

 

[Outlaw75]

So what is left, a bench trial where the Head Lawyer decides?

One wag said, if you are going to argue the facts, demand a jury trial, if you are going to argue the law, take a bench trial.

Try to not get in a situation that ends up in a criminal trial.

 

[Anchorite]

I've been summoned to jury duty twice. The first time was for federal court. I filled out their questionnaire, and never heard from them again. (I read the directions pretty carefully, so I'm sure it wasn't on me to call in & see if I needed to report.) The second time, I'd just taken a job as a prosecutor, and I got summoned for a state court division that only heard criminal cases. That court excused me before I ever reported.

The reality for me is that I'll probably never serve on a jury. I know that I'd only keep a lawyer on the jury in very specific and rare circumstances.

True story…..defended a felony burglary once and had our juvenile judge in the pool and selected her as my alternate. To this day she tells me what a delight it was to be on my jury and that she was upset she was the alternate. I tell her each time that I just couldn’t have her as the foreman. Result:G

On a child sex case I had an in-house lawyer on my jury. That one wound up a NG. Turned out he was my foreman.

I try to spot those people that I think would make good thinkers and be strong forepersons when in voir dire.

 

[Anchorite]

Good question. Thing is, one will never get a "jury of one's peers" anymore. Our communities are too fragmented, the generation gap is wider than ever, history and civics are no longer taught in the schools, and one could argue, the woke emphasis on "diversity" in seemingly every aspect of our lives seems to have a negative impact on compromise, consensus-building and agreement on anything in general, particularly if one is concerned about actual facts.

I would say the diversity of the jury has changed so much. Used to be I’d see a closer in age group - not so much anymore. It’s that inter-dynamic of personalities that comes into play once deliberations begin. I tell my clients all the time in voir dire, “look at what you see. Do you think you can trust them to make the right decision?” Gets them to thinking, be it civil or criminal trial.

 

[Matthew Temkin]

There is nothing more boring than jury selection. Hearing the same questions asked again and again…

“Jurors, this part of the trial is known as the ‘voir dire’, that’s French for ‘slow death’.”

Edit: I’ve also heard “you’re going to be tried by 12 people too stupid to get out of jury duty.”

As a retired NYC Court Officer I heartily agree.
We called them Voir Death

 

[cjwils]

I have been called for jury duty twice. The first time, several decades ago, I was chosen to serve even though I was a county employee whose office was next door to the court room (and I said that during voir dire). I think the jury reached a just decision in that case. It was a complex case that involved one officer totally loosing his cool and beating the suspect in the hospital emergency room after they were both injured. The second time I was called, recently, I told the judge I had prostate enlargement, which required me to run to the men's room every 2 to 3 hours, and I was excused. I really would have wanted to serve if not for that problem. On the other hand, if you are a male age 60 or so, you can probably be excused for this reason if you want to.

 

[Legionnaire]

I was deselected from a jury pool for a murder trial some years ago. Both sides asked me questions. To this day I don't know which side deselected me or what I said that caused them to. People may suspect who cut them and why, but it isn't part of the process to inform them. All I got was, "Thank you, Juror 19. You are dismissed."

 

[dweis]

After I retired from full time work I had excellent credentials to be an expert with news on practice-of -trade and damages for copyright infringements. I testified in dozens of of cases in federal courts, all before juries except one before a judge. While these were not criminal cases I did get lot’s of insights into how my client’s lawyer(s) dealt with juries. Based upon that experience I’d say those to lawyers on the video know what they are talking about. I am going to check out their YT channel.