Jury Research Institute

Voir Dire

Pretrial Preparation Techniques for an Effective Voir Dire

Planning the Questioning Process

The most fundamental aspect of planning an effective voir dire is to develop a set of appropriate questions for the prospective jurors. This is no time to resort to a list of canned questions that may or may not be relevant to your case. An excellent starting point for developing your questions is to list your case themes. All of your questions should in some way aim to elicit responses that tell you which prospective jurors will be favorably disposed to your case — and which ones you should strike from the panel. (We will discuss specific model questions later in this article.)

Start with "How" and "Why" Questions. Structure your questions to elicit the maximum amount of information from jurors. Ask open-ended questions that begin with phrases like, "Can you tell me a little about…?" or "What have your experiences been with…?" In general, questions that begin with "what" ("What did you study in college?") elicit basic facts and generalities from jurors. Questions that begin with "why" ("Why did you study psychology?") elicit explanations; and "how" questions elicit jurors’ feelings. Generally, you will obtain the most valuable answers with "how" and "why" questions.

Ask Easy Questions First. The order in which you ask questions is important. Most people maintain a low profile in a group. They are nervous and uncomfortable. You give jurors an opportunity to relax if you start the interview with easy, basic questions, such as, "What’s your occupation?" or "Where do you work?" After you have broken the ice, move into questions that ask about feelings. You are more likely to obtain expansive, meaningful answers if a juror is relaxed.

Review the Questions. When you finish drafting your questions, have others review them. Better yet, have someone else read your questions out loud so that you and the reviewers can all hear them. Many lawyers have inadvertently embarrassed an otherwise good juror with a well-intentioned, but poorly phrased question. "Did you ever get to college?" may embarrass the potential juror; "What’s your educational background?" probably won’t.

Plan Alternative and Follow-up Questions. Design several different ways of asking for the same information. If you have told prospective jurors you are interested in them as individuals, and you ask every one of them the same questions, you will reduce your credibility. Follow-up questions will help you tailor the questioning to the juror and help the jurors expand on their initial replies. Good follow up questions include, "Can you tell me more about that?" "Why is that?" "How so?" "I’m not sure I quite understand; could you explain?" and "What is it like to…?"

Don’t Ask About Fairness Unless Challenging for Cause. Eliminate questions about potential jurors’ "fairness" or "impartiality" in your voir dire questions, except when you are pursuing a challenge for cause. Jurors resent being asked if they can be fair, and you rarely get meaningful replies. Save this term for the judge or your pursuit of for-cause challenges.