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Voir
Dire and Jury Selection
INFORMATION
GATHERING (continued)
Unfortunately,
the skills one needs to employ in jury selection in order to effectively
deal with these challenges are not taught in law school. They are,
however, studied by social scientists who apply theory to the courtroom.
Unfortunately, much of the information that is out there about jury
selection is erroneous folklore that will trip up those who come
across it as often as it will help them. For instance, a passage
from the text titled Fundamentals of Trial Techniques offers:
"The
ethnic characteristics method of jury selection looks at ethnic
backgrounds… attitudes are deep-rooted beliefs that are affected
by values acquired early in life from family and social peer groups.
Consequently, plaintiff’s personal injury lawyers favor Irish,
Jewish, Italian, French and Spanish jurors. Conversely, defendants
in such cases look favorably upon English, German and Scandinavian
jurors – Nordic types who are viewed as more responsive to
law and order arguments and resent windfall damages. Criminal
lawyers who subscribe to this theory use the same approach, except
that they reverse the conclusions. Prosecutors prefer Nordic types;
defense attorneys prefer Mediterraneans. Closely tied to the ethnic
origins approach is the religious beliefs analysis. Catholic and
fundamental Protestant sects are viewed as favoring the prosecution.
Liberal Protestant and most Jewish sects favor the defense."
Although social
science has moved well beyond this, this "logic" is still
encountered. For example, some people still believe that young jurors
are not really a problem because they do not possess the leadership
skills to "hang" a jury. This, however, is not true; by
the year 2000, Generation X comprised 30 percent of jury panels.
This is a unique generation because although members show virtually
no deference to authority, they can and do lead juries all the time.
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