In a legal context, the term peremptory refers to a decisive challenge with no opportunity given for debate, denial, or refusal. A peremptory challenge may be used by either party to a legal action in the jury-selection phase, to dismiss a potential juror without stating a reason.
Peremptory Challenge. The right to challenge a juror without assigning, or being required to assign, a reason for the challenge.During the selection of a jury, both parties to the proceeding may challenge prospective jurors for a lack of impartiality, known as a challenge for cause. A party may challenge an unlimited number of prospective jurors for cause.
lawyer can turn a peremptory challenge into a challenge for cause he has dramatically increased the odds of obtaining a favorable result for his client by obtaining more favorable jurors. Imagine a similar scenario to that discussed above in which police officer’s credibility is a
Dec 19, 2021 · The meaning of PEREMPTORY CHALLENGE is a challenge (as of a juror) made as of right without assigning any cause. ... Recent Examples on the Web Most often the practice occurs through a legal tactic called a peremptory challenge, which allows an attorney to strike a potential juror without having to state a reason.
Lawyers use peremptory challenges to strike jurors “thought to be inclined against their interests.” 20 Peremptory challenges, in theory, “assur[e] the selection of a qualified and unbiased jury” 21 by “eliminat[ing] extremes of partiality on both sides.” 22 The Equal Protection Clause, however, constrains the use of the peremptory challenge.
A peremptory challenge may be used by either party to a legal action in the jury-selection phase, to dismiss a potential juror without stating a reason. Other peremptory orders may be made by the court, such as setting a peremptory trial date, which cannot be changed or challenged by either party.Sep 21, 2015
Prosecutors and defense attorneys routinely use peremptory challenges to eliminate from juries individuals who, although they express no obvious bias, are thought to be capable of swaying the jury in an undesirable direction.
Those who favor retention of the peremptory challenge point to its four purposes: The peremptory challenge allows litigants to secure a fair and impartial jury. It gives the parties some control over the jury selection process.
Although no reason must be given for exercising a peremptory challenge, an attorney's use of the challenge cannot be motivated by bias.
A challenge used to question the racial, ethnic, religious, etc. motives of a peremptory challenge. If used, a lawyer using a peremptory challenge must provide a "for cause" reason to strike a juror. Large group (12-24) of jurors who decide if a person should be indicted.
peremptory challenge. allows any party to remove a prospective juror from the jury panel without giving a reason. challenge for cause. ability to exclude a prospective trial juror if bias or prejudice is indicated.
A peremptory challenge results in the exclusion of a potential juror without the need for any reason or explanation - unless the opposing party presents a prima facie argument that this challenge was used to discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex.
There are certain legal grounds for which a juror might be excused, called a challenge for cause, and each side may excuse a certain number of jurors, called a peremptory challenge. The challenges do not reflect on the jurors' integrity or intelligence.
Legal Definition of peremptory instruction : an instruction charging a jury that if they agree to the truth of certain stated facts then they must find for a particular party.
A peremptory challenge is made to a juror without assigning any reason. You have ten peremptory challenges. D elects to have a jury trial. Judge unexpectedly schedules D's case for trial early without notifying you.
Attorneys may make an unlimited number of challenges for cause. A challenge for cause may be made for any reason that the attorney feels would make the individual unable to judge without bias. For example: Alexander is facing trial for charges of armed robbery, fleeing from the police, and assault on a police officer.Aug 31, 2015
Peremptory Challenge. The right to challenge a juror without assigning, or being required to assign, a reason for the challenge.During the selection of a jury, both parties to the proceeding may challenge prospective jurors for a lack of impartiality, known as a challenge for cause. A party may challenge an unlimited number ...
Critics claimed that white prosecutors used their peremptory challenges to remove African Americans from the jury when the criminal defendant was also African American because the prosecutors thought that the potential jurors would be sympathetic to a member of their own race.
Under the Batson test, a defendant may object to a prosecutor's peremptory challenge. The prosecutor then must "come forward with a neutral explanation for challenging black jurors.". If the prosecutor cannot offer a neutral explanation, the court will not excuse the juror.
On the other side of the spectrum, North Dakota took an early, giant leap from the typical Batson analysis to recognize gender as an impermissible reason to use a peremptory challenge on a juror before the United States Supreme Court addressed this issue in J.E.B.
Peremptory challenges came under legal attack in the 1980s.
the right to challenge jurors without having to give a reason or show cause. It was abolished in England and Wales by the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and in Scotland by the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1995.
A party may challenge an unlimited number of prospective jurors for cause. Parties also may exercise a limited number of peremptory challenges. These challenges permit a party to remove a prospective juror without giving a reason for the removal. Peremptory challenges provide a more impartial and better qualified jury.
Pre-trial Internet research of prospective jurors is becoming an integral component of the trial preparation process. Trial attorneys would be well advised to apply this practice whenever possible because it may increase the likelihood of a favorable outcome. But before undertaking this research, attorneys must be familiar with the local ethical rules governing this practice. They must also determine whether jurors will receive a notification from the website if another user views their profiles. Fortunately, the leading social media websites provide user-friendly support software that allows trial attorneys to discern this information with relative ease. Given the role of social media in our society, investing the time to understand how these websites function is a worthwhile endeavor. ■
The jury in a civil case will be composed of those individuals who are qualified and not exempt as well as those which have not been "discharged or excused." (CPLR § 4105). A juror can be discharged or excused by: stipulation, or by one of the attorneys exercising a "challenge for cause" or a "peremptory challenge."
The selection of the jury should be perceived as the final step of the actual trial in which counsel for the plaintiff can focus on the potential verdict and counsel for the defense should seek to avoid excessive verdicts. The development of a psychological bond is critically important from both sides from a potential verdict perspective and should start when the jurors first step into the selection room. Counsel should not ignore, however, the frame of the description of the action that is provided to the court prior to jury selection and read by the judge as part of the selection process. As noted by two of my partners:
The Seventh Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees a fair trial by an impartial jury. The right to a jury trial in the State of New York is conferred by Article 1, Section 2 of the New York State Constitution. This right is implemented by New York Civil Practice Law and Rules §§ 41 01-4110 which regulate the examination of perspective jurors. While CPLR 41 07 provides that upon application of any party a judge can be present, in actuality, depending upon the jurisdiction, State Court jury selection is often done without participation by a judge. A judge, however, is generally available to answer any questions that arise during the process and at any time during the process one can request judicial presence. In addition, while the parties to an action have the right to be present during jury selection, such is usually not done. Again counsel has the choice to invite his client, however, some times the physical limitations of the jury selection room prevents this from happening.
ROBERT B. GIBSON ([email protected]) is a partner at Heidell, Pittoni, Murphy, & Bach, LLP and manages its White Plains, New York, office. The majority of Mr. Gibson’s practice focuses on the representation of hospitals and individual physicians in medical malpractice actions. He is a trial lawyer with over 15 years of experience representing clients in all phases of civil litigation, from inception throughtrial, and has successfully defended numerous clients through verdict. Mr. Gibson was selected for inclusion in New York Super Lawyers® for 2011.
Recent Examples on the Web Most often the practice occurs through a legal tactic called a peremptory challenge, which allows an attorney to strike a potential juror without having to state a reason. — Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2021 The prosecutor used a peremptory challenge to dismiss Byng. — Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2021
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Juror ideology matters. Studies show that juror ideology affects outcomes in both criminal 15 and civil 16 cases.
Independent from the argument that demographic profiling to discriminate by ideology is merely a pretext for race discrimination, demographic profiling for ideological discrimination poses additional threats to overall jury impartiality.
Attorneys cannot try their cases during voir dire. They must therefore use heuristics—what then-Justice Rehnquist called “seat-of-the-pants instincts” 36 —to assess prospective jurors’ desirability.
Importantly, American demographics manifest this sort of asymmetry. Some group identities—including those based on race and gender, two of the features on which peremptory challenges are often based—are highly correlated with membership in the Democratic Party, a strong indicator of a liberal ideology.
This Comment shows how the use of peremptory challenges may skew juries ideologically to the right. The data presented add to the robust literature on the other ways in which unfettered peremptory challenges bias the trial process. 72 They also strengthen the case for legislative action to limit or abolish the peremptory challenge.