for what reasons might an attorney use a peremptory challenge

by Prof. Jude Farrell 8 min read

A peremptory challenge also allows attorneys to veto a potential juror on a “hunch”. Their use allows attorneys to use their training and experience to dismiss jurors who might say the correct thing, but might otherwise harbor prejudices that could infringe the rights of the defendant to a fair trial. What is a peremptory challenge used for?

The rationale behind allowing peremptory challenges is to give the attorneys an opportunity to seat the best jury for each case. Since each side will reject the jurors that they presume will favor the other side, the result should be a well-balanced jury.

Full Answer

What is a peremptory challenge in criminal law?

Apr 17, 2020 · A peremptory challenge can be a major part of voir dire. A peremptory challenge also allows attorneys to veto a potential juror on a "hunch". The idea behind peremptory challenges is that if both parties have contributed in the configuration of the jury, they will find its verdict more acceptable. Click to see full answer.

Why do lawyers use peremptories in court?

Why would a lawyer use a peremptory challenge? A peremptory challenge also allows attorneys to veto a potential juror on a “hunch”. Their use allows attorneys to use their training and experience to dismiss jurors who might say the correct thing, but might otherwise harbor prejudices that could infringe the rights of the defendant to a fair trial.

How many peremptory challenges can a lawyer file?

A peremptory challenge is used by attorneys in the jury selection process to excuse potential jurors without providing a reason why. In this lesson... for …

Why did prosecutors use peremptory challenges against African Americans?

Peremptory challenges allow an attorney to reject a potential juror for real or imagined partiality that would be difficult to demonstrate under the challenge for cause category. These challenges, however, have become more difficult to exercise because the U.S. Supreme Court has forbidden peremptory strikes based on race or gender.

Why would a lawyer use their peremptory challenge?

A peremptory challenge also allows attorneys to veto a potential juror on a "hunch". ... Their use allows attorneys to use their training and experience to dismiss jurors who might say the correct thing, but might otherwise harbor prejudices that could infringe the rights of the defendant to a fair trial.

For what reasons might an attorney use a peremptory challenge quizlet?

the to challenge a potential juror without disclosing the reason for the challenge. 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.

What is a peremptory challenge and why would it be used?

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.

What is an example of peremptory challenge?

Peremptory Challenge and Juror Bias Potential jurors may inherently be biased against certain acts or people. For instance, a retired police officer may not be able to serve impartially in a trial for a defendant accused of shooting a police officer while trying to escape a drug house.Sep 21, 2015

What does a peremptory challenge do quizlet?

What is a peremptory challenge, and how many do you have? A challenge for cause is an objection to a juror alleging that the juror is incapable or unfit to serve on the jury. ... A peremptory challenge is made to a juror without assigning any reason.

What is a peremptory strike quizlet?

Peremptory Challenge. A lawyer uses this to strike a potential juror from a jury without giving any reason.

What does a peremptory challenge in a court case mean?

Peremptory challenges allow the accused to reject potential jurors who they perceive to be implicitly or explicitly biased, particularly with respect to the accused's race, and to try to keep jurors who share the same background as the accused through the exclusion of other jurors.Nov 23, 2020

What is a peremptory challenge and how many such challenges does each party usually get?

In federal court each side is entitled to three peremptory challenges. If more than two parties are involved in the proceeding, the court may either grant additional challenges or restrict the parties to the minimum number of challenges. Peremptory challenges came under legal attack in the 1980s.

What is the challenge for cause in law?

A challenge that aims to disqualify a potential juror for some stated reason. Typical reasons include bias, prejudice, or prior knowledge that would prevent impartial evaluation of the evidence presented in court.

What might be some reasons a prosecuting or defending attorney might dismiss a juror from a case?

For example, a juror can be dismissed for cause if he or she is a close relative of one of the parties or one of the lawyers, or if he or she works for a company that is part of the lawsuit. Each lawyer may request the dismissal of an unlimited number of jurors for cause.Sep 9, 2019

Which of the following is true of peremptory challenges?

Which is true of peremptory challenges during jury selection? ... They can be used to excuse jurors for no particular reason. They can be used to excuse jurors for no particular reason.

How do you oppose a peremptory challenge?

Once a peremptory challenge is made, the judge cannot oppose it. As long as the challenge is made in a timely manner, the judge immediately loses jurisdiction over the case. This means any action that he makes in the case shall be considered “void.”

What is a peremptory challenge?

The term peremptory challenge refers to the practice of excusing potential jurors without providing a reason why. Jurors may also be excluded because the attorneys and the judge believe that the juror, for whatever reason, can't be fair. This is called a 'for cause' challenge.

What is the purpose of jury selection?

The purpose of the jury selection process is to seat a fair, unbiased jury. In the context of criminal trials, a jury must represent a fair cross-section of the defendant's community. When peremptory challenges are used to side-step this fair cross-section requirement, the defendant's right to a fair trial is just as quickly destroyed.

What was James Batson charged with?

Kentucky decision. The African American defendant, James Batson, was charged with burglary and receiving stolen goods. During jury selection, the prosecution used its peremptory challenges to remove all African Americans from the jury. Batson was ultimately convicted by an all white jury.

What is the Batson challenge?

Now, if a defendant suspects that the prosecution has used its peremptory challenges for the explicit purpose of eliminating potential jurors based on their race, the defendant can make an objection to the discriminatory composition of the jury. This objection is known as a Batson challenge.

What is a peremptory challenge?

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 ...

When was the right to challenge jurors abolished?

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.

What is the Batson test?

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.

What is a peremptory challenge?

These are known as peremptory challenges, which are ways to get rid of jurors who present no obvious evidence of bias or unsuitability.

What is pretrial publicity?

Criminal cases sometimes generate extensive pretrial publicity, with talking heads expounding on the evidence, the defendant, and the probable outcome of the case. People who have watched, read, or listened to such accounts may have formed opinions that will be hard to put aside.

Can a judge reject a juror?

Lawyers can ask a judge to reject potential jurors who are biased or incapable of following the law. They can also toss a certain number of unbiased jurors for almost no reason at all…as long as it’s not an improper reason.

Reasons For A Peremptory Challenge

  • Peremptory challenges occur during the process of jury selection, or voir dire, and are one of the ways the legal system attempts to ensure a fair trial. Ideally, peremptory challenges are used to minimize the risk of bias on the part of jurors who may unconsciously pick a side in the trial in a way that subverts their entirely rational judgment.
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Examples of Peremptory Challenge

  • A series of Supreme Court cases illustrate both the relatively recent controversy about peremptory challenges and the attempts to preserve them in the American legal system. The controversy stems from concerns about racial discrimination and whether using peremptory strikes to excuse members of a given racial group violates the Fourteenth Amendment.
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The Impact of A Peremptory Challenge

  • The ideal impact of a peremptory challenge is that a trial is fairer and more fully rational than if such challenges were not used to create a better jury. How is it that removing a juror without an explicit rationale could achieve fairness?The answer to this question comes down to the idea of balance. Some biases may be unconscious or hard to explain. By giving both the defendant and …
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Definition of Peremptory

  • Pronounced puh-remp-tuh-ree Adjective 1. Decisive, final, or dictatorial 2. A command, ruling, or decision that does not allow for questioning or debate Origin 1505-1515 Latin peremptōrius(final, decisive)
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Use of Peremptory Challenge in The Legal System

  • While the term peremptory may be used to refer to a variety of rulings, orders, or decisions in the U.S. legal system, its most common use is in the jury selection process. When a jury is needed for a trial, potential jurors report to the courthouse, where they go through a selection process known as voir dire. During this process, the judge and the parties’ attorneys question each potential juro…
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When A Peremptory Challenge Cannot Be Used

  • The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that no party to a legal action can remove a potential juror based on race. While no explanation or reason is given for dismissal via peremptory challenge, if a pattern of excluding jurors based on race emerges, the judge can order the dismissing party to provide reasons for dismissal, and may require voir direof additional jury candidates in order to …
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Batson v. Kentucky 476 U.S. 79

  • In the 1980s, an African American man by the name of James Kirkland Baston was tried for burglary and receipt of stolen property. During voir dire, the prosecutor used peremptory challenges to dismiss all of the African Americans from the pool of prospective jurors. The jury of all white jurists subsequently convicted Baston of both charges. Baston appealed his case, whic…
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