Jury Trial Analysis

1100 Words5 Pages
Jury Trial Analysis Clifford A. Kelly CJA/364 March 26, 2012 William Mosley Jury Trial Analysis The modern jury has evolved since about 1700 into a complex process involving a number of distinct steps. (Zalman, 2008) Each step that makes up the jury trial is unique within itself. Without each steps the jury trial system would not be a complete system of checks and balances. The first step in any jury trial is the process of picking the jury itself. Jury Selection Depending of the location of the jury trial a jury is made up of the local people within the same community as the actual trail. The same citizens are put on a master jury list which is put together on a chance and nor individually selected. Once the master jury list is compiled the next step comes into play. The jury pool is a group of the same citizens which are randomly selected from the master list. Depending on the case load and the lay out the court house the venire is can range from a small group to a larger group. Once the venire’s are in place the excitement is about to begin. The process of voir dire is a process which allows the judge as well as the attorneys to weed through the juror by a process of elimination. This process is a series of questioned that are asked to the jurors themselves to eliminate the biased individuals from being part of an actual trial. This is also a system of check and balance that hopefully will contribute to a fair trial. Peremptory challenges are challenges that are allowed by the court to the attorneys which give them the power to eliminate a juror for no reason at all with only two exceptions race or gender. Opening Statements Each lawyer outlines the main points of the case to the jury, putting the best interpretation on the case. Both in voir dire and in opening statements, lawyers also try to make good personal impressions on jurors. (Zalman,

More about Jury Trial Analysis

Open Document