Juries

Whitey Bulger Juror Questionnaire

Here is the Whitey Bulger Juror Questionnaire.  As some may know, Bulger has been indicted for 19 murders.  Many if not all of the murders allegedly occurred while Bulger, an organized crime figure, was working as a government informant.  For more information about Bulger go here.  

The questionnaire appears fairly straightforward.  I have excerpted some highlights below.

37. In this case, there will be evidence that the defendant was a member of a criminal organization that engaged in violent crime and financial crime. Do you have any concerns regarding organized crime that would prevent you from acting as a juror in this case?

Yes ____ No

If yes, please explain:

 

38. Have you read any book(s) regarding organized crime in Boston?

Yes ____ No

If yes, please list the title of each book you’ve read and provide a brief description.

 

42. Several witnesses in this case have participated in the criminal activity alleged in the indictment. Will the fact that a witness has been involved in the criminal activity alleged in the indictment cause you to automatically disregard the testimony of the witness?

Yes ____ No

If yes, please explain:

 

44. Several witnesses in this case cooperated with the government in exchange for a more lenient sentence. Will the fact that a witness cooperated with the government to receive a lesser sentence cause you to automatically disregard the testimony of the witness?

Yes ____ No

If yes, please explain:

 

46. Do you believe that the sale of marijuana should be legal?

Yes ____ No

If yes, please explain:

 

48. What was the last book you read?

U.S. v. Kilpatrick et al. Juror Questionnaire

The juror questionnaire in U.S. v. Kwame Kilpatrick et al. is available here. The questionnaire, which has 122 questions, tells potential jurors that "[a]ll information contained in this questionnaire will be kept confidential and under seal." However, as demonstrated here and here, the media can generally get access to these questionnaires by legally challenging the trial judge's order of confidentiality. 

Some of the non-standard questions from the questionnaire are excerpted below.

33.  Which of the following best describes the way you most prefer to work?

__I like to lead a group of others

__I like to work on my own

__I like to work with a groupd where there is no single leader

__I like to work in a group with another person leading me on.

51.  Do you enjoy playing "devil's advocate" or presenting oppoing positions when arguing or debating?

Yes___  No___

52.  Do you find it difficult to change your mind, or let go of a previously held position?

Yes___ No____

67.  What role, if any, do you think race plays in the criminal justice system?

69.  Do you think African-American defendants are less likely to be offered a plea deal than white defendants?

Yes___  No ___

If yes, please explain:

75.  Do you think minority politicians have a harder time succeeding in politics?

Yes___ No ____

If yes, please explain

76.  What do you think of the current state of racial relations in the United States?

80.  Do you regularly send text messages, IM's or Tweets to people?

Yes  ___ No  ____

If yes, approximately how many do you send a day?

81.  Do you regularly blog or post your thoughts and opinions on the internet?

Yes  _____  No  ____

If yes, what sites do you regularly post on?

88.  Do you think the media in Detroit has had a racial preference or bias in the way they have covered local stories in general?

Yes  _____   No  ____

If yes, please explain:

 

Proposed Juror Questions in the Apple and Samsung lawsuit.

Here is a link to the voir dire questions proposed by both Apple and Samsung in their ongoing civil lawsuit. What is interesting here is the vast difference in the number of questions proposed by each side.   Apple proposed 49 questions to the jury while Samsung proposed 700 questions.

For more information about the Apple and Samsung lawsuit go here.

 

John Edwards Juror Questionnaire

Here is the juror questionnaire in the John Edwards trial.

Media Still Wants Juror Questionnaires from Chandra Levy Homicide Trial

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: DC court considers release of Levy juror questionnaires

A three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals weighed Tuesday whether the questionnaires of jurors who convicted the killer of former intern Chandra Levy should be made public.

The Washington Post, Associated Press, Gannett Co., Inc. and The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a motion last November in U.S. v. Guandeque seeking the release of trial evidence and questionnaires filled out by potential jurors during the selection process known as voir dire. Guandeque, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was found guilty of Levy's death and sentenced to 60 years in prison.

The issue of evidence was resolved before the end of the trial, but Judge Gerald I. Fisher kept the 11-page, 55-question questionnaires sealed, electing instead to release only each juror's age, gender, occupation and educational level.

The Washington Post appealed the ruling, urging the appellate court to release the questionnaires of the 16 jurors and alternates ultimately empanelled to hear the case.

At Tuesday's hearing, counsel for the government conceded that Fisher erred in sealing the documents, since the 1984 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court created a presumption of access to voir dire proceedings under the First Amendment. Most of the hearing was spent discussing what action the appellate court should direct Fisher to take now, given his pledge to the jury that questionnaire answers would remain confidential….to continue reading go here.

Amended Conrad Murray Juror Questionnaire

Amended Conrad Murray Juror Questionnaire

Juror Questionnaire in the Trial of Conrad Murray (Michael Jackson's Doctor)

People v. Conrad Robert Murray

h/tip Dr. SunWolf

Juror Questionnaires

The issue of the media's right to juror questionnaires is in the news again.  This time it has to do with last month's high profile murder trial of former Washington, D.C. intern, Chandra Levy.  The judge handling the case, in which Ingmar Guandique was convicted of Ms. Levy's death, refused to release the questionnaires to the Washington Post citing juror privacy.  The Washington Post is in the process of appealing the judge's ruling citing the public's right to know.  Similar appeals (see Nevada OJ trial and Scott Roeder trial) have arose across the country and courts for the most part have sided with the media finding that the questionnaire like voir dire should be made public so long as the juror's personal identifying information is removed.

 

Ryan Widmer Jury Questionnaire

To access the questionnaire go here. 

For background information on the upcoming Ryan Widmer trial which is scheduled to begin in January go here.

Jurors Seated in the Pitino Extortion Trial and Juror Questionnaires Released

The judge in the Coach Pitino (University of Louisville) extortion trial has released the juror questionnaires.  As some may recall, this case arises from a sexual encounter between Ms. Karen Sypher and Coach Rick Pitino.  Ms. Sypher is accused of trying to extort money from Coach Pitino and lying to the FBI about the encounter.

Here are some responses to the juror questionnaire, which because of the facts alleged in the case deal with some sensitive topics like adultery and abortion.

Seated Juror #25 wrote: "The only thing that I have heard about on the news are the charges against Karen Cunagin Sypher."

Seated Juror #91 responded after asked what she has heard in the community about the case, Pitino or Sypher: "People say she is crazy and he is a liar and an adulterer."

About abortion, Juror #47, who the defense wanted dismissed, checked the statement, which read it's a private matter and not my business.

Regarding Pitino, Juror #96 wrote: "I believe that Rick Pitino is a very good college basketball coach."

One woman who stated she is on fertility meds said, "I feel so strongly against abortion if this case deals with abortion I will not be able to handle it emotionally."

Another man wrote, "She is a scam artist. Love him as a basketball coach."

Potential Juror #147 wrote: "Most of what I remembered was centered on Pitino's affair and his tongue-lashing at the media event."

Potential Juror #80 wrote of Sypher's fate, "leaning toward guilty."

Another person wrote: "She is a blonde bimbo trying to get rich."

The actual questions from questionnaire can be found here.  Also, Ms. Sypher's attorney has renewed his change of venue motion due to the pretrial publicity this case has attracted.