Jury Selection

            Jury selection involves choosing people who serve on a jury.  In the United States, the jury pool is also referred to as the venire.  It is first selected from community members using a reasonably random strategy. Jury lists are made from driver license, state ID renewals, and voter registrations. From such lists, the summons is mailed.  Usually, a juror panel is assigned to a courtroom.  

Prospective jurors are selected randomly to occupy the jury box.  In this stage, they are questioned by the judge or attorneys.  Based on the jurisdiction, attorneys can have an opportunity to challenge for cause argument or utilize one of the limited peremptory challenges numbers (Ferguson, 2013). In other jurisdictions with capital punishment, the jury has to be death-qualified to eliminate death penalty opposition. The jury that has been selected is said to have been "empaneled.’ The selected jurors are subjected to the examination system whereby the prosecution and defense can object to a juror. In countries with common law, this is referred to as voir dire.  This can include the general questions asked of the entire pool of prospective jurors, answered in the way of a show of hands, and the issues asked of individual potential jurors and calling for a verbal response (Starr & McCormick, 2009). In other jurisdictions, attorneys for the parties can ask the potential jurors while in other jurisdictions, the trial judge carries out the voir dire. In the   U S, the voir dire process is always much in depth when compared to other countries. Also, its practical implementation is somehow controversial (Frederick & American Bar Association, 1995). The level of privacy that the potential jurors are given when asked questions create the issue of defining "impartial jury." A good number of people always ask if intensive questioning of the potential jurors looks not mere for inherent bias but for the potential to become emotionally swayed. On the contrary, proponents support that this method provides the sides with more confidence in reaching verdicts.

            In the US, cases of the death penalty must have "death-qualified" jury.  This jury is the one where all venire members that categorically opposed to the death penalty are removed. This is aimed at ensuring that the jury will remain willing to hand recommend the death if the crime warrants it (Ginger, 1984). The Supreme Court has also ruled that this practice is constitutional while critics to object to it because of empirical evidence which always shows that death-qualified jurors are highly likely to convict crimes than are the jurors. In the periods between the 1970s and 1980s, the United States, scientific jury selection used expert assistance in more effectively as peremptory challenges turned out common. This practice has continued to prove controversial since there are fears that it provides lawyers the opportunity to "fix" the jury and distort the effect of money. On the other hand, research shows that its effect is modest at best. Today, jury research is becoming increasingly more common as attorneys try high-stakes cases need help through all parts of the trial process.  Also, there is still more general field regarding litigation consulting which also contains many other techniques that are not directly related to juries. When it comes to criticism, attitudes toward psychiatrists, attitude toward the insanity defense as well as legal authoritarianism studies, were looked at as conviction-proneness predictors in many insanity defense cases.   Many experts viewed that over 85% of cases that are litigated are lost or won in the phase of jury selection.

   

REEFERNCES

Ferguson, A. G. (2013). Why jury duty matters: A citizen's guide to constitutional action. New    York: New York University Press.

Frederick, J. T., & American Bar Association, (1995). Mastering voir dire and jury selection:         Gaining an edge in questioning and selecting a jury. Chicago, Ill: General Practice         Section, American Bar Association

Ginger, A. F. (1984): Jury selection in civil and criminal trials. Tiburon, Calif: Law Press Corp.

            Starr, V. H., & McCormick, M. (2009): Jury selection.

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