Jury Selection Facts

What determines whether or not I serve on a jury?

Whether or not you serve on a jury depends on once you are called down to the court, then a certain number of jurors are picked to go into a courtroom. From that number 12, if it is a 12 person jury which typically we have, although some states especially civil cases might use six person juries. Then 12 or six, whatever the number is, are called into the jury box, questioned as to, obviously, whether they know anybody involved in the case, their attitudes about the issues. Then it is up to the lawyers to excuse a limited number of jurors if they don't think that they would be sufficiently neutral or supportive of their claims that they are going to be making. It is up to the lawyers to excuse those jurors who are put into the box for service.

Why are potential jurors sometimes asked personal questions during the jury selection process?

Well jury selection is a process of lawyers, or people representing themselves, trying to find out whether individuals are unbiased, will they give them a fair hearing. And many lawsuits do concern very personal issues. And you want to know whether any of the people sitting on your jury - or who might be sitting on your jury - have had similar experiences which may bias them, perhaps, against you. When issues are very personal, the jurors don't have to answer those questions in front of everybody. The judge will always invite them to either come up to the bench or go back into chambers, the judge's office, and answer those questions in private.

What is a 'challenge for cause'?

A 'Challenge For Cause' is a claim that a juror, or potential juror is not legally eligible to serve on the jury--meaning that they have a bias which is just so strong that they could not overcome it, and that they legally should not be allowed to serve on the jury. For example, you might have a case in which a citizen sues a police officer for using excessive force while making an arrest. Well let's say one of the potential jurors is a police officer in the same station house who's worked with the police officer who's being sued; the judge would probably excuse that police officer/juror for cause, believing that it would be unlikely that that person could be a fair, and unbiased juror.

What is a 'peremptory challenge'?

Peremptory challenge is a challenge to a potential juror based not on any legal cause but simply a lawyer or self-represented parties feeling that “This person doesn't like me or wouldn't be a good jury for me.” Often if it comes from an emotional reaction that this is would not the person I want sitting in the judgment of me and my legal client. You're only allowed a limited number of those, so that you have to be very careful when exercising a peremptory challenge because once you exercise it, it's gone and you might have to take another juror for whoever is then selected to fill the excused juror's place. You know, you may not have a peremptory challenge available for that person, so in most cases you get let's say only two or three peremptory challenges at most. You have to be very cautious when excusing jury just based on sense that they may not be very receptive to my position.