[blindLaw] Picking a jury

[Robert Munro]

I reach out to the Circuit Court clerk and ask him to provide the information for the jury panel as soon as possible: I try for a week or ten days, but three will do. That gives me a chance to look people up on social media, which helps prepare questions to ask during jury selection.

The clerk can also help figure out how to let you know who the other attorney is striking. Ask if the bailiff will speak to you discreetly and write down your answer. The only other way is to pass a laptop back and forth where the Attorneys write in a word document or spreadsheet, then have the clerk transcribe the choices to the official paper form. The first way is faster and it works even better if you trust your client to help with the form, or if you have a coworker in court with you.

Also, have some way ready for your client to pass you notes during the trial: a tablet or phone locked into a message or chat app. Having someone whisper in your ear while you’re trying to pay attention to witnesses, jurors, Etc distracts me. Sometimes, a client can tell when a particular juror doesn’t like him or isn’t buying an argument, so you need to have a way to get their thoughts in real time. They can also point out when a witness is lying.

Good luck. Let us all know how it works out.


Robert Munro
R.G.Munro at gmail.com



> On Mar 21, 2024, at 12:18, James Garret Mooney via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I was wondering if anybody had any tips or tricks for picking a jury? In my jurisdiction, the judge will typically ask the voir  dire questions, and the members will stand up when a question applies to them. The attorneys are then to make notes Based off of the jurors answers. Afterwards, each jury member comes up to the judges bench and the attorneys can ask follow-up questions. Additionally, attorneys are given a packet containing jurors information, such as education, age, employment, status, and marital status. This is in a hardcopy form. I was wondering if other jurisdictions function similarly and if anybody has any ideas or accommodations you have used in the past, I appreciate everybody’s thoughts. 
> _______________________________________________
> BlindLaw mailing list
> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/r.g.munro%40gmail.com