An Overview of Current Law Impacting Jury Selection in Civil Cases

The process of selecting a jury for a trial can be very stressful for lawyers. They have to ask potential jurors questions and decide if they are a good fit for the case. After that, they have to explain their choices to the judge. There are resources available to help with this process, but this article will focus on the rules and logistics of jury selection. If there’s any doubt about whether a juror can be fair and impartial, they should be excused from serving on the jury. If a juror can’t set aside their biases and decide the case based on the evidence and the law, they should be dismissed. When in doubt, it’s better to excuse the juror rather than risk them being biased. A juror’s general dislike of a certain type of lawsuit won’t automatically disqualify them, as long as they can put aside their feelings. But if their negative feelings are specific and strong, they may be excused from jury duty. In a court case, a juror was dismissed for showing bias against a certain type of personal injury case. The decision was upheld on appeal, and it’s important for trial lawyers to use their peremptory challenges carefully and not in a discriminatory way. If a lawyer thinks a peremptory challenge is being used unfairly, they should object and ask for the reason for the strike. The lawyer making the challenge then has to explain their reason, and it can’t be based on discriminatory intent. This process is called a Neil inquiry. Once the jury interview is done, the trial court will assess the reasons given for striking potential jurors to make sure they are genuine and not just a cover-up for bias. The opponent of the strike has the burden of proving it was discriminatory, and the court’s decision will only be overturned if it’s clearly wrong. It’s important for objections about jury selection to be made before the jury is sworn in. The selection process can take a while, especially when objections are raised, and it can be tricky for lawyers to challenge potential jurors without upsetting them. In a court case, the defense tried to remove a potential juror from the jury, but the plaintiff objected. After some discussion, the judge agreed with the plaintiff and said the juror could stay. The case went on, and the jury decided in favor of the plaintiff, but the decision was later changed because the judge should have let the defense remove the juror. So, the whole trial had to be done again. Voir dire is an important part of trial, where lawyers question potential jurors. The court needs to make sure all jurors are treated the same. The court’s decision during this process can be questioned if it’s based on wrong information. It’s important for lawyers to accurately remember jurors’ answers and use the actual transcript when possible. In recent years, there have been changes in jury selection, with more focus on cause challenges rather than peremptory strikes. It’s important for lawyers to understand these changes to best help their clients. These are lots of court cases from Florida. They are about challenges to the selection of jurors for trials. Some cases talk about specific instances where challenges were upheld or denied. The cases also discuss the importance of the court properly conducting an inquiry when a challenge is made.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/an-overview-of-current-law-impacting-jury-selection-in-civil-cases/