The trial is a structured process where the facts of a case are presented to a jury, and they decide if the defendant is guilty or not guilty of the charge offered. During trial, the prosecutor uses witnesses and evidence to prove to the jury that the defendant committed the crime(s).
When using a challenge for a cause, a juror can be excused by either the defense or prosecution, and no reason for doing so needs to be stated. Grand juries meet in secret, and a person under investigation has no legal right to be present or even to be notified of a grand jury investigation.
Do any of you know, or think you might know, the plaintiff, defendant, or any member of his/her family, or have had dealings with this corporation? 5. Have any of you ever seen, heard, or read anything about this case, or have any of you ever heard anyone express an opinion about it?
rebuttal. Which term best describes when the prosecution calls a witness to contradict the testimony or evidence presented by the defense? exculpatory. Evidence that tends to show innocence of the accused must be disclosed is called _____ evidence. to establish credibility.
voir dire, in law, process of questioning by which members of a jury are selected from a large panel, or venire, of prospective jurors. The veniremen are questioned by the judge or by the attorneys for the respective parties.
A peremptory challenge permits a party to remove a prospective juror without giving a reason (e.g., disqualification, implied bias or actual bias) for the removal. During jury selection, each side will challenge potential jurors that the party views as most likely to disagree with their factual and legal theories.
Conducting the voir dire can be maximized by following five stepsStep 1: Case analysis. The best voir dire is derived from a solid case analysis. ... Step 2: Advance preparation. ... Step 3: Voir dire questionnaires. ... Step 4: In court. ... Step 5: Keeping track of information.
Voir dire is the process used by the parties to select a fair and impartial jury. During voir dire, the jury panel is questioned by both parties' lawyers. The questions are intended to help the lawyers in the jury selection process. After voir dire, the jury is selected from the panel.
A voir dire is a separate hearing in which the trier of law determines whether evidence is admissible and can potentially be entered into evidence in the trial. A voir dire can also be convened to determine the competence of a witness or to determine whether an expert witness is qualified to give evidence.
Definition of cross-examination : the examination of a witness who has already testified in order to check or discredit the witness's testimony, knowledge, or credibility — compare direct examination.
When you give technical or scientific testimony, you PRESENT this evidence and EXPLAIN what it is and HOW it was obtained.
Cross-examination gives the opposing party an opportunity to point out the weaknesses of a witness's testimony, like holes in their story or a lack of credibility.
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. ACADEMIC TOPICS. trial process/advocacy. courts.
Challenges: The law authorizes the judge and the lawyers to excuse individual jurors from service in a particular case for various reasons. If a lawyer wishes to have a juror excused, he or she must use a "challenge" for that juror.
A challenge for cause is a challenge to a member of the jury panel on the basis of one of the grounds specified in the Code of Criminal Procedure. - There is no limit on the number each side may make, but each one made must be justified under one of the statutory grounds.
peremptory - Each side in a case has a certain number of challenges that can be used without giving a reason. These are called "peremptory" challenges.
The jury selection process is one of the most important steps in a trial, but there are some things that disqualify potential jurors. Attorneys for both sides have the chance to ask questions and determine which individuals they want and do not want on that jury. As a law or criminal justice student, you may want to know which factors to look out for when picking a jury. Personal History The ...
Answer (1 of 4): I liked to begin by asking jurors what the last book was that they read. That’s an easy question and many jurors have books in hand because they came prepared to wait in a courtroom all day. You can learn a great deal from someone by what they are reading and you can establish ...
The reasons you can be disqualified from jury duty — There are 10 disqualifications from jury service.The way you report a disqualification depends on the type of disqualification. Jurors are picked using random selection — Prospective jurors are selected at random from the resident lists supplied to the Office of Jury Commissioner every year.
A good friend at work described the battery of questions that she was asked when she was selected to serve as a juror for a murder trial. I have been summoned to Jury duty in Ohio (Toledo) and have some concerns.
The trial judge begins voir dire by asking the prospective jurors questions to ensure that are they are legally qualified to serve on a jury and that jury service would not them cause undue hardship. For example, most states allow a student who might miss critical exams, a person who has an upcoming surgery scheduled, or someone who serves as sole caretaker of an ill or elderly family member to be excused from jury service for undue hardship.
The trial judge begins voir dire by asking the prospective jurors questions to ensure that are they are legally qualified to serve on a jury and that jury service would not them cause undue hardship.
After they have completed questioning, the lawyers begin removing potential jurors from the venire by making challenges for cause and peremptory challenges.
Actual Bias. Actual bias arises when potential jurors admit that they wouldn't be able to be impartial. For example, a juror who states that she would never vote for a guilty verdict in any case because her religious beliefs prevent her from sitting in judgment of another would be excused for cause. Implied Bias.
Any person who doesn't meet these criteria will be dismissed "for cause.". Judges will also dismiss jurors who can't put aside their feelings and apply the law impartially—that is, without actual or implied bias. Actual Bias. Actual bias arises when potential jurors admit that they wouldn't be able to be impartial.
The states vary in the number of jurors required for a jury, ranging from six to 23. If too many potential jurors have been eliminated after the use of challenges, the judge can either summon additional potential jurors or declare a mistrial.
In the process known as "striking a jury," the prosecution and defense take turns arguing their challenges for cause. If the judge grants a challenge, the juror will be struck from the jury panel.
Selecting the jury is the only time an attorney has the opportunity to discover the life experiences, biases, beliefs, and attitudes of the people who will decide their case. The last thing any attorney wants is for bias to come out during the trial. Thus, how lawyers pick jurors is an essential indicator of the experience and knowledge ...
The goal is to remove jurors who won’t identify with the plaintiff and what they have suffered at the hands of the defendant.
What most prosecution cases don’t want are jurors that have connections to big corporations or insurance companies . They don’t want small business owners, HR personnel, or people who have been involved on the prosecution side of their own personal injury cases. In addition, you don’t want people who favor tort reform, or are vocally opposed to “frivolous lawsuits.”
Voir Dire is the process of interviewing potential jurors, a preliminary interview where each side gets to talk to the jury. This is a key part of how lawyers pick jurors. It affords the attorney the opportunity to work out bias, pick those jurors that will most benefit their case, and eliminate those who present a danger or a problem.
That’s why it’s so important for attorneys to carefully listen and talk to their potential jurors to get a feel for how the individual case will be viewed.
Very often, union employees make for good prosecution jurors as they are used to fighting injustice. People who are prone to look unfavorably on big corporations are good for cases like product liability and trucking accident cases.
Picking the right jury is the difference between winning and losing a case. The greatest mistake that an attorney will make is trying to find a jury that’s biased towards their side, rather than trying to find one that’s as impartial as possible. Trying to find a jury that’s anything less than fair can be a fast path to losing a case , and a good lawyer knows this.
These lists are a compilation of information from the Department of Motor Vehicles, voter registrations, phone books, and other sources that would provide a list of potential jurors' names. From the compilation, names are randomly drawn.
The right to a jury trial for a serious criminal charge is guaranteed by the Constitution. Juries are also guaranteed in certain civil matters at the federal level and in most states. A jury is charged with finding the facts of the case after carefully reviewing the evidence and deliberating. But how are jurors selected ...
The process varies from state to state and county to county. Some courts have a call-in system, where you call the court once or twice a day and they tell you that you are or are not needed.
The jury summons most likely will provide information about exemptions from jury service. These exemptions typically include: 1 Under the age of 18 2 Not a U.S. citizen 3 Have been convicted of a disqualifying felony 4 Not a resident of the county any more 5 Request to be Excused or Disqualified 6 Have a mental or physical disqualifying condition
"Voir Dire" refers to the second stage of jury procedures, and is the process by which the court and the attorneys narrow down the pool of jurors to the 12 people that will decide the case.
If there are remaining potential jurors left, they will be excused. Jury selection has been completed and the next phase of the trial will commence.
Next, the judge will begin the process of juror's requests for dismissal. Out of the 100 prospective jurors, the judge is typically looking for twelve people and 2 or 3 alternates, but states vary on the number of jurors required. The process differs, but the prospective jurors will be given an opportunity to state reasons they should be excused. The judge does not have to accept any excuse, but will generally try to be accommodating. Valid excuses tend to be:
In a trial, the judge — the impartial person in charge of the trial — decides what evidence can be shown to the jury. A judge is similar to a referee in a game, they are not there to play for one side or the other but to make sure the entire process is played fairly.
Jurors are selected to listen to the facts of the case and to determine if the defendant committed the crime. Twelve jurors are selected randomly from the jury pool (also called the “venire”), a list of potential jurors compiled from voter registration records of people living in the Federal district.
During trial, the prosecutor uses witnesses and evidence to prove to the jury that the defendant committed the crime (s ). The defendant, represented by an attorney, also tells his side of the story using witnesses and evidence. In a trial, the judge — the impartial person in charge of the trial — decides what evidence can be shown to the jury.
This is called redirect examination. Once the process of direct examination, cross examination, and redirect of all the witnesses is complete, the prosecutor rests his case.
The prosecutor makes an opening statement first because the Government has the burden of proving that the defendant committed the crime.
For example, a prosecutor or defense attorney may object to the wide range of the direct examination because it is beyond the knowledge of the witness, the attorney may be arguing with the witness rather than asking questions, or the witness may be talking about things irrelevant to the case. Common objections include:
After the prosecutor rests, no more witnesses can be called to the stand or evidence introduced by the government. After the Government rests, the defense has the opportunity to present witnesses and evidence to the jury. The defense also has the option of not having the defendant testify.
If there is a hung jury or one where a jury is divided on a verdict, the parties will typically resolve the matter in lieu of retrying the case.
Most defendants are motivated to resolve their matters quickly and satisfactorily, depending on the strength of the evidence against them and if facing prolonged incarceration. A defendant is generally motivated by avoiding:
People are arrested and charged with crimes every day, putting tremendous stress on the court system, jails and prisons. To resolve the tremendous number of cases, prosecutors may seek out plea agreements.
The plea bargain is an agreement between a criminal defense attorney and the prosecution to resolve a criminal case and ends with a defendant pleading guilty or nolo contendre (no contest) in exchange for a reduced sentence or to a lesser charge. Nolo Contendre.
A plea of nolo contendre is a guilty plea. Its effect is in civil cases where a victim may elect to sue the defendant for civil damages by not allowing the plea in the criminal case to be evidence of an admission of guilt to the underlying charge. About 90% of all criminal cases end in a plea agreement. The ones that do go to trial are usually in ...
If you would like to discuss a pending case with an attorney contact the Aizman Law Firm at 818-351-9555 for a free confidential consultation.
A plea to set charges in exchange for not adding other charges. An agreement to reduce the sentence based on the defendants’s lack of a record or weakness of the evidence. A plea to a set of charges in return for a reduced or alternative sentence in exchange for information or to testify against other defendants.
The Process of Jury Selection (Voir Dire) The questioning of potential jurors follows different rules depending on the jurisdiction (that is, if the case is in federal or state court). Even within a jurisdiction, trial judges often have their own methods for picking a jury. But no matter where the case is tried, ...
The defense lawyer might attempt to determine how potential jurors will react to that trial strategy by asking questions about the right to “stand your ground,” to defend your property, to possess firearms, and to protect others from harm.
Its primary purpose is to make sure that the jurors can listen fairly and impartially to the evidence and render a verdict in accordance with ...
Experienced attorneys ask questions to get a sense of how a juror will respond to the evidence and arguments in the case about to be tried. In most federal courts, lawyers submit questions to the judge, who will then question the potential jurors in open court. In state courts, however, lawyers are typically permitted to question ...
To expedite the selection process, potential jurors sometimes complete written questionnaires before meeting with the lawyers or the judge. These questionnaires help to quickly eliminate certain potential jurors—such as people who do not speak English well enough to follow testimony. They also identify subject areas, like prior experiences with law enforcement or the courts, for follow-up questions in the courtroom. If questionnaires are not used, lawyers or judges simply ask all of their questions in open court. Potential jurors may be questioned as a group or one at a time. Once preliminary issues, such as juror availability and competency have been covered, lawyers and judges move on to more substantive questions.
Where voir dire uncovers a legitimate concern about a conflict of interest or a potential bias, the judge will normally dismiss the juror “for cause.” A “for cause” dismissal means the court has agreed with at least one lawyer’s argument about the unsuitability of a potential juror (or has reached this conclusion on its own). A lawyer can raise an unlimited number of “for cause” challenges during jury selection.
If questionnaires are not used, lawyers or judges simply ask all of their questions in open court. Potential jurors may be questioned as a group or one at a time.