Texas Voir Dire: Teaching The Jury About Your Case
John Wilson • February 4, 2019
Making Your Voir Dire More Effective
What Is Voir Dire?
Voir dire is the process used by lawyers to select a fair and impartial jury from an available jury pool. Once the voire dire process commences, each lawyer gives a brief introduction of themselves and their clients, and the jury panel is questioned by the lawyers. In certain jurisdictions, the judge may also question the jurors. These questions are intended to help the lawyers in the jury selection process. After voir dire, the jury is selected from the panel.
Connecting With Your Jury
It important to connect with your potential jurors and, as a part of that strategy, you should anticipate and follow these guidelines:
- Inform jurors that there are no wrong answers, and that voir dire is a place to voice opinions, feelings and concerns about the issues so that everyone can understand a juror’s frame of reference to determine if they are appropriate to determine the case;
- Explain to the jury their role. Their role is to tell the lawyers and the judge if they have any feelings, thoughts, or personal beliefs about the evidentiary issues and legal issues in the case so that there can be a determination made as to whether they can be a fair and impartial juror at the start of the case. They are to keep an open mind and be capable of hearing trial evidence and make the decision upon the evidence presented in the case;
- Advise the jurors not to bring up any personal matters that may be of concern to them but rather to raise their hand if such an issue needs to be discussed as it relates to their feelings or personal concerns. Its important that jurors who may have adverse feelings about your case talk one-on-one basis with lawyers and the judge after voir dire is complete;
- Exploit the evidentiary strengths of your case. Personal feelings about ethical concepts, for instance, someone making false statements, not keeping their word or lying, can aid a case that relates to fraud or breach of contract;
- Not only cover your strengths, but discreetly cover your weaknesses. Topics involving your evidentiary weaknesses can determine which jurors are more likely to hold that evidentiary weakness against you or who may not be sympathetic or understand your side of the story as to those issues;
- Emphasize to the jurors that personal opinions and feelings are fine, it’s just if they are so strong as to make them a biased, unfair or predisposed then they should be further questioned for bias, etc.;
- Importantly, for jurors who the other side will obviously have to strike, but you want may still want on the jury, emphasize with those jurors that their personal feelings and beliefs are fine if they will otherwise agree to listen to the evidence, follow the evidence and follow the judges instructions; and
- Engage those jurors seated 1 to 34 as those are the jurors who will most likely be selected. Engage those jurors on your evidentiary strengths and weaknesses to determine if they are predisposed to your position.
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