Jury Research Institute

Voir Dire

Pretrial Preparation Techniques for an Effective Voir Dire

Areas of Inquiry

Basic Areas. The following questions are basic areas of inquiry relevant to most cases. These questions were designed for use in a prospective juror questionnaire, but most are easily asked in open court during voir dire.

• What is your occupation?
• Who is your employer?
• What is your employment status (full-time, part-time)?
• What is the principal activity of the company where you work?
• Do you hold any other jobs at present (second job, part-time job)?
• What is your title or position?
• In your work, do you have management or supervisory responsibilities? (This is an important question in assessing leadership on the jury panel.)
• Have you had management or supervisory duties in the past? (This and the previous question should alert you to possible persuaders.)
• What other occupations have you worked in? (Attorneys often fail to ask about other occupations. In our society, economic influences sometimes require people to work temporarily in occupations that reflect little about an individual’s occupational preferences. You should be looking to learn about their occupational identity. For example, a juror may tell you, "I’m a sales clerk at Macy’s." Without further inquiry, you may fail to uncover the fact that this person has worked for 12 years as an accountant in a small corporation that recently downsized.)
• Have you ever been a member of a trade union?
• Have you ever owned your own business? If yes, please describe?
• Do any other adults live in your household? (If yes, get occupations and educational backgrounds of all; note that this question is broader than merely asking about a spouse.)
• What is your marital status?
• What city do you live in?
• What other cities have you lived in for more than one year?
• Where did you grow up? (Questions about where a juror has lived give you a sense of how narrow or wide a juror’s exposure to different people has been.)
• What is your educational background? What was your major area of study?
• Have you attended any other educational programs (evening schools, certification programs)?
• What type of volunteer work have you done? (This is especially important in personal injury cases, from both plaintiff and defense perspectives.)
• Do you have children? (If yes, be sure to get ages and occupations, if appropriate.)
• What are the occupations of your extended family members (Parents, brothers and sisters)? This question is often overlooked, yet parents and siblings, especially those living nearby, exert strong influences on jurors, certainly as important as a spouse’s.
• Do you have any friends or relatives who are judges or attorneys?
• What civic, social, religious, or other organizations are you affiliated with?
• What are your major hobbies, interests, spare-time activities?
• Have you, any members of your family, or close friends ever filed a lawsuit?
• If yes, who filed the lawsuit?
• What was the suit about?
• How was it resolved?
• What were your feelings about the process at the conclusion of the case?
• Have you, members of your family, or close friends ever been sued?
• If yes, who filed the lawsuit?
• What was the suit about?
• How was it resolved?
• What were your feelings about the process at the conclusion of the case?
• Have you ever testified in a trial or ever given a deposition?
• Have you ever retained an attorney?
• Were you satisfied with the services you received?
• Would you describe yourself as a leader infrequently, occasionally, or frequently? (This question is directed at uncovering possible persuaders. It is best asked on a prospective juror questionnaire, but can be asked orally, if done sensitively.)
• Have you ever written a letter to the editor of a magazine or newspaper? (This question is a red flag for identifying a participant. A person who has written a letter to the editor obviously has opinions and wants to share them.)
• How would you describe yourself in 10 words? (This is an excellent question. It elicits superb information when asked on a questionnaire. It can also be asked orally, but again, it must be done sensitively, and the attorney may want to offer a few self-descriptions of themselves to elicit the reciprocity effect.)
• Have you ever served as a juror? (If yes, get details.)
• Were you ever the foreperson of a jury? (This is another signal that you may be dealing with a possible persuader.)
• Have you taken any courses, had any training in any of the following areas? (Ask about specific fields of study or training that could give the potential juror some knowledge, or even prejudices, about your client’s case. If the potential juror has had such training, obtain answers to all relevant areas.)
• Have you, any of your family members, or close friends ever worked for…? (Prepare a list of all relevant occupations or businesses.)
• What additional information should I know?

Case-Specific Questions. Obviously, there are numerous areas of inquiry that will be unique to the case at hand. These areas will be clear from your pretrial analysis of the case. There are several ways to generate ideas for voir dire questions and deciding how to evaluate jurors in light of their replies.