Voir Dire
Voir Dire can be the most important part of a jury trial.
We understand that in any important jury trial a team of professionals work with the lead litigator — and we built our software for the entire team to stay in real-time communication to evaluate each juror to make the best strike decisions.
Peremptory Strikes
Some argue that voir dire is less about juror selection and more about juror de-selection. The point of a peremptory strike is to remove jurors that the litigator believes cannot be fair or impartial. When both sides remove those jurors, the jury pool is left with people both sides believe can be fair.
Written Surveys
Some believe extensive written surveys sent to jurors before they appear in court are the most effective way to identify biased jurors — giving them the chance to disclose disqualifying opinions or backgrounds without the pressure of fast-paced oral questioning. That's why JurorSearch incorporates all survey questions and answers directly into each Juror Profile.
Cause Challenges
One important strategy is to maximize the use of cause challenges to remove jurors who would otherwise consume a limited peremptory strike. If a clever litigator can get a potential juror to admit they simply cannot be fair or impartial, the judge will often strike the juror for cause — allowing the litigator to preserve a peremptory strike for later in the process.
Hardship Strikes
A juror that is almost certainly bad for a litigator's client — but who also has legitimate personal challenges that could prevent jury service — is a great candidate for a hardship strike, another type of strike that is unlimited in number. The more that court staff can surface these objections before jurors appear in person, the better for everyone.
Batson Challenges
Peremptory strikes cannot be used to discriminate against jurors for their race or gender. The landmark Batson decision by the United States Supreme Court created this law and gave rise to Batson challenges — and even Batson reconstruction hearings years after trial — to ensure peremptory strikes are free of racial or gender discrimination.
Real-Time Racial Composition Tracking
JurorSearch helps both sides keep track of the racial composition of every peremptory strike with constantly-updated statistics, surfacing whether either side is disproportionately striking jurors from one race.
Documented Strike Reasons
Litigators can enter their reason for each peremptory strike in real-time, creating a clean, clear record — so if a Batson challenge surfaces months or years later, the justification is already on file.
Free Voir Dire Resources
Law Review Article
Jury Selection in Illinois
Jury Selection in Criminal Cases: Illinois Supreme Court Rule 431 — Michael Toomin, DePaul Law Review, Fall 1998
Law Review Article
A New Approach to Voir Dire on Racial Bias
Cynthia Lee, UC Irvine Law Review, Volume 5
ABA Article
Virtual Criminal Jury Trials
The Practical and Constitutional Issues with Virtual Jury Trials in Criminal Cases — Phillip Hamilton, American Bar Association, February 26, 2021
Book
The Missing American Jury
Prof. Suja Thomas — on the benefits of juries
2021 Supreme Court Case
State v. Leo T. Little Jr. (A-80-19)
New Jersey Supreme Court, 2021
Study
Decline in Jury Trials
Reasons for the Disappearing Jury Trial: Perspectives from Judges and Attorneys
Court Opinion
Boston Marathon Case Opinion
US v. Tsarnaev, No. 16-001 (2021)
Attorney Argument
The Case Against Mandatory Online Jury Trials
The Case Against Mandatory Online Jury Trials in the Time of Corona — Texas Bar
Batson Procedures Article
The Evolving Debate Over Batson's Procedures
The Evolving Debate Over Batson's Procedures for Peremptory Challenges — NAAG
Ready to transform your voir dire process?
JurorSearch gives your entire trial team the real-time communication tools to make the best strike decisions — together.