Juries

Discussion of the George Floyd Jury Questionnaire

This article examines the jury questionnaire used in the prosecution of the police officers responsible for George Floyd's death.

JdSupra.com: Get Their Views in Advance: Lessons from the Juror Questionnaire in the George Floyd Murder/Manslaughter Trial

Harvey Weinstein Juror Questionnaire

Here is the link to the Harvey Weinstein juror questionnaire.

 

Paul Manafort Jury Questionnaire

Here is the jury questionnaire for Paul Manafort's upcoming trial.  Manafort, a long time political strategists who served as Donald Trump's campaign manager, is on trial for financial crimes related to bank fraud. The allegations stem from Manafort's lobbying efforts on behalf of several Ukrainians which occurred prior to his time on Trump's campaign. There is nothing too surprising by these questions.  Here are two that stood out.

43. Do you, any member of your immediate family, or any close personal friend have any connection to Ukraine?

_____ Yes _____ No

A. If yes, would anything about that connection to Ukraine cause you to form an opinion about the defendant’s guilt or innocence?

_____ Yes _____ No

B. If yes, please explain:

42. Have you, any member of your immediate family, or any close personal friend ever run for or held a political office in the federal, state, or local government?

_____ Yes _____ No

A. If yes, would anything about that person’s running for or holding political office cause you to form an opinion about the defendant’s guilt or innocence? _____ Yes _____ No

B. If yes, please explain:

Judge to Release Redacted Juror Questionnaires in Tensing Trial

WCPO: Judge orders jurors' questionnaires in Ray Tensing murder case ...

 

Juror Questionnaire in Ray Tensing Murder Trial

 

Here is the juror questionnaire currently in use for the Ray Tensing Murder trial. As some may know, especially those in Southwest Ohio, this high profile trial involves the shooting death of an unarmed African-American motorist by a white police officer. The questionnaire is fairly straight forward except for the questions about the Black Lives Matter group which are somewhat unique.  Another question that stood out to me was about Statistics and whether any potential juror has taken the course.  For more information about this case go here.

Tsarnaev Juror Questionnaire Released

 Here is the juror questionnaire for the Boston Marathon Bombing trial.  The questionnaire, which has 101 questions, was released by the court yesterday.

 

Juror Questionnaire for the American Sniper Trial

Here is the juror questionnaire from the American Sniper trial. The most interesting aspect of this questionnaire is its length--only 23 questions.

The defendant (Eddie Ray Routh) in this case is accused of killing Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and another man. Kyle was recently depicted in the movie American Sniper.

 

Change of Venue Motion Sealed

 

The trial judge in the Tsarnaev death penalty case has ordered the defense's third change of venue motion sealed (to read about the earlier change of venue motions go here). The judge issued this order to protect the privacy of the jurors. Apparently, this last change of venue motion included quotes from "confidential juror questionnaires" and "attribut[ed] the quotes to specific prospective jurors who are identified by juror number, including jurors who have not yet been interviewed in the course of public voir dire proceedings."

 

Aaron Hernandez Juror Questionnaire

Here is the Aaron Hernandez juror questionnaire. It appears to be fairly standard.

Also, the trial judge in this case has ruled that the public may watch the voir dire process but they are not entitled to hear the verbal responses from the jurors.  Previously, the defendant had requested that juror questioning occur beyond the earshot of the media and those sitting in the gallery of the courtroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Privacy and Juror Questionnaires

The NY Times article below highlights how invasive some juror questionnaires can be. Depending on the facts of the case, some jurors have been asked about abortion, adultery, drug use, race and political party affiliation.

TV Habits? Medical History? Tests for Jury Duty Get Personal

Do you believe in an “eye for an eye”? What do your parents do for a living? Do you watch “CSI”? “Dateline”? Read PerezHilton.com? Have you ever undergone a medical procedure that required an anesthetic?

Welcome to jury service, where the seats are hard and the questionnaires increasingly long and nosy.

In a recently concluded federal racketeering trial in Brooklyn, potential jurors were asked what public figures they admired the most and the least. For a political corruption trial, they were asked to list their three favorite movies and what the bumper stickers on their cars said. For a current civil case concerning Israel, they were asked if they had “any feelings about Jews” that would make it difficult for them to serve.

Jury questionnaires have become a familiar presence in courtrooms across the United States, with some lawyers routinely requesting them in major cases — transforming the standard voir dire procedure into a written test.

“You can learn a lot from a questionnaire that you can’t learn in person,” said Daniel Gitner, a defense lawyer in Manhattan, noting that he preferred to use questionnaires. “You want to use a questionnaire anytime you have a real, considered view of what beliefs your jurors are coming to the courtroom with.”

 Click here to take the juror test.