In the Spring 2008 Newsletter

Standing Up for a Fair Jury: Voir Dire in Security Cases
By John Elliott Leighton, Miami, FL

INTRODUCTION
Selecting juries in inadequate security cases can be particularly daunting. Besides the usual issues facing plaintiffs when they come before a panel with the burden of proof (and other extra-judicial biases that have been provided by the insurance and business communities), security cases pose difficult policy issues.

Jury selection is not just about choosing the right jurors; the goal of jury selection is to identify and exclude the problem jurors. The process therefore should be called “jury deselection.”

Resist the traditional fears that if a juror spews his or her prejudice openly, it will taint the rest of the panel. Jurors are not going to change their core beliefs simplybecause another juror voices a strongly held perception during voir dire.

Your focus should be to look for these land mines, and, contrary to conventional wisdom, to try to get them to go off by showing themselves. In fact by not identifying these problem jurors, you certainly run the risk of . . .

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EMBRACING TODAY’S CONSERVATIVE JUROR
By Gregory A. Eiesland

You have a meritorious case. A woman has been injured because of the carelessness of another. Her life has been altered for the worse. From the time you have spent with this woman you have learned the extent of her suffering and her fears for the future because of her injury. So why are you concerned about how this woman’s story will be received by 12 people from the community? Why would they question your client’s story, motives and injury? Will there be empathy for this young woman or will the trial be viewed as an example of “what’s wrong with this country?”

All lawyers have felt the lash of the conservative juror. They have felt the disconnect, indifference and sometimes the disdain that can be present with conservative jurors. Although there are conservative jurors that are unreachable, this discussion is going to be about those conservative jurors who will not only listen to your case but also will become advocates for your client when the story is told properly.

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This paper, available free to members of the Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway & Premises Liability Section, was presented at the 2007 AAJ Annual Convention in Chicago. Copyright © 2007 American Association for Justice. Further reproduction of any kind is prohibited. For more information, call AAJ Education at (800) 622-1791. To purchase other papers, visit the AAJ Exchange.

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