Transcript Profiling a Jury: The Right Jury For the Right Case

Jury Selection-101
Toni M. Blake JD, MA
2nd Chair Services
San Diego, Ca
(619) 469-5143
[email protected]
Step 1: Profiling Your Jury
Rule #1: Think
Rule # 2: What you used to know can hurt you.
Rule # 3: Demographics alone are not enough.
Assess the Emotional Dynamics
of Your Case
(Which direction does the emotion flow?)
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What Type of Case is it?
Was/is There Media Coverage?
Is Your Client Famous or Notorious?
Will the Victims Family be in the Courtroom?
Will There be a Support for the Client in the Courtroom?
What is the Necessity of the Crime?
Is the Crime a Particularly Heinous one?
How Recent was the Case?
Are There Other Issues Going on at the Time of Trial That
Might Influence Your Case?
– In Jurisdiction
– In Country
– In World
Characteristics of your Client:
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Age, Race, Gender
Social Desirability
Presentation in Court
Past History
Prior Criminal Record
Alleged Conduct in and
After Crime
• Thug Factor
• Can the Jury Identify With
the Client?
Characteristics of the Victim?
• Age, Race, Gender
• Presentation in Court
• Conduct During and After
Crime
• Social Desirability
• Vulnerability
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Child
Elderly
Women
People of a Protected Class
• Can the Jury Identify With
the Victim?
Highly- Defense
Emotional
•Self Defense Cases
•Child Defendants
•Provocation
Emotion
•Death Penalty
•Crime of Passion
•Psych Cases
•Shaken Baby Cases
•Murder Cases
w/Undesirable Victims
• Some Gang Cases
Less Emotional
•Drug Cases
•Petty Theft
•Burglary
•Vandalism
•DNA Cases
•Scientific Cases
•Assault/Battery
•“Chain of Evidence” Cases
•Bad Police Procedure
Cases
Highly Prosecution
Emotional
•Vulnerable Victim
–Cases Involving Kids
–Kidnapping
Emotion
–Child Molest Case
–Rape
–Shaken Baby Case
–Hate Crime
–Crime Against Elderly
•Robbery Cases
•Arson Cases
•Vehicular
•Manslaughter
•Murder
Less Emotional
•Drug Cases
•$ Cases (white collar)
•DUI
•Petty Theft
•Non-Violent Cases
•Tax Fraud
•Gambling
•DUI
•Bad Checks
•Most DV Cases
Assess the Intellectual
Requirements of Your Case
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What Type of Case is It?
What is the Length of the Case?
What is the Level of Difficulty of the Case?
Are There Complex Elements of Law?
Are There Going to be a Lot of Impeachment Testimony?
Will There be a lot of Crime Scene Evidence?
Will There Be Expert Testimony?
– In a Soft Science?
– In a Hard Science?
High
Requirement
•Scientific Cases
•DNA Cases
Intellect •Psych Cases
•BRD Cases
•Shaken Baby Cases
•Sexually Violent
Predator Cases
•Bad Police Procedure
Cases
•“Chain of Evidence”
Cases
Low
Requirement
•Drug Cases
•Petty Theft
•Burglary
•Robbery
•Vandalism
•Gang?
•Assault/Battery
Assess the Players
Characteristics of the State Witnesses
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Gender
Race
Age
Education
Social Desirability
Presentation
Credibility
Characteristics of the Defense Witnesses
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Gender
Race
Age
Education
Social Desirability
Presentation
Credibility
Your Personality Characteristics
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Organization
Efficiency
Likeability
Gender, Age, etc
Attractiveness
Personality
Demeanor
Intensity
Characteristics of Opposing Council:
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Organization
Efficiency
Likeability
Gender, Age, etc
Attractiveness
Personality
Demeanor
Intensity
Juror Personality and Demographic
Variables to Consider When Profiling a Jury
Thinker
Feeler
Soft
Hard
High Intelligence
Low Intelligence
Older
Younger
Step Two: Voir Dire
Procedural Issues:
• Questionnaires are sometimes good, but not always.
• Never trade voir dire for a questionnaire.
• Make a Motion for extended voir dire on emotional cases.
• Try a 1 page mini questionnaire with a modified Hovey
follow-up to make things quick and humane to the jurors
and to avoid contaminating the jury pool.
• Make the Judge ask all the hard questions unless you have
a severe judge.
• Be careful of the order of questions- hard questions toward
the end.
Step Two: Voir Dire
Tactical Issues:
• Give the jury all of the hard facts up front and watch their
faces.
– It’s like dating – finding out bad facts late into the relationship
decreases credibility.
• Spend your time judiciously.
– Concentrate on rehabilitating good jurors and getting the cause
challenges on bad jurors.
– Don’t talk to jurors that you know will be kicked by one side or the
other.
• Eliminate the word “fair” from your void dire.
Step Three: Jury Selection
Basic Rules of Jury Selection
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Be aware of your own biases, stereotypes, and
prejudices.
Don’t get seduced by a single characteristic.
Don’t under-estimate the power of group dynamics and
the deliberation process.
Don’t over-estimate the power of your own
gorgeousness.
Devise your own system.
When in doubt trust your gut!
Personality or Demographic
Variables to Consider When Selecting a Jury
Thinker
Feeler
(65% males 35% females)
(65% females 35% males)
Leader
Follower
High Intelligence
Low Intelligence
Soft
Hard
Older
Younger
Thinkers
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Accountants
Engineers
Computer People
Money People
Business People
Researchers
Math and Science People
Quality Control, Insurance
or Inspector type people
• Bureaucrats
Feelers
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Nurse
Teacher (Special Ed)
Coaches
Helping Fields
Physicians
Psychs
Social Workers
Younger People
Life-Time Stay at Home
Moms
Personality or Demographic
Variables to Consider When Selecting a Jury
Thinker
Feeler
(65% males 35% females)
(65% females 35% males)
Leader
Follower
High Intelligence
Low Intelligence
Soft
Hard
Older
Younger
Leader
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Military Officers
Supervisors
Extreme Extroverts
Bright/Social Jurors
School Principles
CEO’s
People who Hire and Fire
Stay at Home Moms with
Lots of Kids
Follower
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Shy
Younger
Less Intelligent
Nervous When Speaking
Very Old
People Who Have Trouble
Hearing or Understanding
English
Rating and Weighting:
Count Your Tallies and Assess Relative
Weight of Each
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