Your lawyer will surely be involved in helping you select the right jury for a case. However, there are some things you should be aware of so that you can help confirm the correct choices.
Not Prejudiced
Unfortunately, many citizens are prejudiced in some way. They may have implicit favor towards people of a specific race, gender, or social class. Getting the truth about these feelings can be tough, but do try to ask questions that would weed out someone who is biased against you.
Intelligence
The intelligence of a jury member is important because it will help them to carefully consider the facts and reason about the case. You can tell a little about a person's intelligence from their job, their body language, and their responsiveness to questions. You can also tell whether they will be engaged and attentive based on their body language and behavior during the jury selection process.
Assertiveness
The best jurors are ones who will be independent thinkers. They will not be swayed by other jury members to change their vote in order to get it over with. Assertive jurors may speak with a more confident voice, they may carry themselves in a different way, and they will be assertive and communicative when questioned as a potential jury member.
Past Experience
Your lawyer will likely question potential jury members about any past experiences that could be relevant to the case. For example, if this is a case about a robbery, you would not want to select a jury member who has been a victim of a robbery in the past. They may still have traumatic and negative memories of that event. These feelings would make it harder for them to be impartial and separate their own experience from the current trial. They may already be in favor of the prosecutor and not let the defense build a case.
Social Media Presence
You may not always get straight answers when you question a juror in person. Thus, your lawyer may look into their social media accounts to see if there is information that would disqualify them as a juror.
Jury selection is an important process. If you have a biased jury, you will have problems right out of the gate. The case may be as well as won for the opposition if you have a jury that cannot or will not hear your side of the events. Thus, follow the tips above carefully during jury selection to weed out inappropriate candidates.
Share30 May 2018
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