Insights Into How Our Legal System Works

3 Things To Know About Jury Selection For Your Trial

26 October 2018 by Yolanda Lane

If you are facing a jury trial for a crime you are being charged with, one of the steps that will take place before your trial is jury selection. Jury selection is a process that involves a lot of different steps, and your lawyer will take this event very seriously. As you prepare for this event, here are several things you should know about jury selection.

It begins with a large pool

The first thing to understand is that there will be dozens, or even 100 people, in the room that are there for jury duty. These individuals received letters from the court telling them to appear for this event, but not all of these individuals will end up serving on the jury panel. The lawyers in the case will be there to choose which people they would like as the jury panel, and the rest of the jurors will be dismissed from the court room and will not have to return to court for jury duty until notified again.

Your lawyer aims for certain types of characteristics

The second thing to understand is that your lawyer's goal will be to choose the right people for your trial, and to do this, your lawyer will look for people with certain types of characteristics. The lawyer will choose to dismiss people with other types of characteristics. For example, if you are charged with a crime related to battery, your lawyer will want jurors who are sympathetic. He or she will not want jurors who were abused in the past.

To find the right jurors, your lawyer will ask each one of them questions. The jurors must answer the questions honestly, and your lawyer and the prosecutor will both have the opportunity to ask questions.

There will be extra jurors

After enough jurors are selected, the court will typically continue the process by choosing one or two extra people to serve as jurors if needed. For example, if one juror gets very sick and cannot serve on the jury, the alternate juror could step up and stand in his or her place. It is important to have enough jurors, as they will be the people deciding your fate.

If you have questions about the crime you are being charged with, or if you have questions about the jury selection process, talk to your lawyer to learn more about this process and the process of going to trial.

Share

Search