JURY SELECTION –WHAT TO EXPECT

Almost all of us will be called for jury service in our adult lives. Nevertheless, most people do not know what to expect when the notice for jury duty appears in their mailbox.

In North Dakota, prospective jurors are chosen for jury duty from a master list compiled by each county. This master list of eligible jurors is compiled from property tax records, voter lists, motor vehicle registrations, driver’s licenses, and lists of utility customers.

When a person is selected for jury duty, the person must appear at a designated time and location. Once all of the prospective jurors have gathered, the court will randomly call off the names of about half the present jurors to come forward for a process known as “voir dire” meaning “to speak the truth.”

Voir dire, also known as jury selection, is the process in which the judge and attorneys ask prospective jurors a series of questions. In state court, the attorneys will ask the majority of the questions while the judge may ask a few basic questions. In federal court, the judge will ask the majority of the questions while the attorneys may be allowed to ask additional questions. Once the questioning is over, a jury is selected from a pool of the prospective jurors. Juries in North Dakota typically consist of six to 12 jurors.

The purpose of questioning the prospective jurors is so that the parties can select a fair and unbiased jury. Jurors will likely be asked a range of questions about their background (i.e., employment, family, experience with the court system), questions about the case (i.e., knowledge of the case, relationship with parties or their attorneys, biases towards any of the parties), and even questions which are meant to relax the jurors (i.e., hobbies, favorite books or television shows).

The questioning process is not designed to embarrass jurors or make them uncomfortable, it is designed to select fair and unbiased jurors. However, it is natural for jurors to feel uncomfortable speaking in front of a large amount of strangers. This is even more true when the juror’s answer to a question may be uncomfortable to say in front of a group of strangers (i.e., criminal history, traumatic experiences, etc.). If you feel uncomfortable about a certain answer to a question, you may always request permission to provide the answer to the lawyers/judge in private.

During the questioning of jurors, the court may recuse certain prospective jurors for “cause.” For instance, if a prospective juror believes he or she cannot be fair for whatever reason in the case, the judge will likely dismiss the prospective juror. Once the questioning has ended, the parties will take turns passing back and forth a sheet of paper in which they take turns striking prospective jurors until they are down to the agreed upon size of the jury. The remaining jurors constitute the jury.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, call 232-8957, email at imclean@serklandlaw. com or visit www.serklandlaw.com.

* This article should not be considered legal advice and should not be relied upon by any person with respect to his/her specific situation.