Preparation for voir dire: Focus groups
In order to do an effective voir dire, it is important that you have a full recog-nition of the assets and liabilities of your case and in particular the liabilities of your case, so that you can anticipate the same and handle them in voir dire. If you face any issue in a group of corporations before any action, hire a corporate attorney.
I have found that a very effective way for me to appreciate the angles and slants of a case is to use focus groups prior to trial to determine how a particular focus group segment would look and determine its importance. Focus groups are a many-splendored thing. You can spend a lot of money in them and have a full fledged final wment type setting, which will cost several thousand dollars, and/or you can have a focus group with your spouse, officers staff, etc. and run through the various aspects of your case and get their fej|j- back. What you’re looking for is valuable feedback and a different view to these then perhaps you have been looking at in terms of what a jury might look at. To be able to see a focus group react to arguments on a set of facts on liability and damages and thereafter to hear them deliberate for an hour and a half as if you were looking into a jury room gives you an incredibly diverse and fruitful view on what your prospective jury panel will be thinking on your case, lb get their thoughts and their slants on your case on any one of a range of subjects, whether there’s an alcohol problem, drug problem, seat belt defense, motorcycle driving, etc. ad nauseam is vitally important.
Many times, I have seen focus group participants react to a given set of facts in such a fashion as to give an entirely new view as to the importance of the manner and means of going about jury selection questioning. I have found, for example, that there are certain new areas that require questioning not only orally, but also as far as written questionnaires.
Written questionnaires are a tremendous asset to use for both sides in the voir dire procedure. Written questionnaires open up areas of examination that allow for a much more significant probing of the backgrounds and thought processes of the jurors for both sides. I have found that written questionnaires will save time as far as ultimate voir dire in light of the usual areas of repetitive examination by counsel. The basic procedure of a written questionnaire is 1. Both counsel prepare a unified written questionnaire and submit it to the trial judge.
Upon obtaining the approval of the trial judge, enough copies are prepared for the entire prospective jury panel when they are first brought into the courtroom. After the judge welcomes the jury panel and reads the basic statement of the case, the questionnaire is handed out to each prospective juror and they are to fill out the questionnaire in toto. Then the questionnaires are copied for both sides and the court and oral voir dire proceeds based upon the matters in the written questionnaire. Obviously, in light of the areas inquired into in the written questionnaire, a great amount of the oral examination is unnecessary, yet on the other hand, amplification questions based upon matters revealed in the questionnaire are in order. The advantage of the written questionnaire is that it allows for a much more thorough revealing of the backgrounds and biases and prejudices of the jurors and it is done in a much more private fashion, to-wit, in writing rather than in front of a courtroom filled with other jurors.
Clearly, this is a benefit to the entire process, including making voir dire more meaningful and of assistance to court and counsel.
