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Are You Taking Full Advantage of Your Juror Questionnaire?

By Brian Harris

I have participated in several civil jury selections in Philadelphia Common Pleas court.  I have done so for distinctly different kinds of cases with distinctly different kinds of case issues. In the process of going through the standard juror questionnaires, I noticed something that surprised me: Most of my clients looked at the name, education and employment on page one and then flipped the sheet to the ?civil? questions on page two without reviewing the responses to the criminal-related questions.

That is a mistake. Don?t do it anymore!

Even for civil trials, there is a lot to learn about a person on that first page, even if the questions were designed for a different kind of trial. Specifically, pay attention to the following:

If the person is more or less willing to believe the testimony of a police officer. This is a strong indication of how folks view authority establishments. Specifically, if you are defending a corporation, you don?t want someone who mistrusts authority figures (i.e., is less likely to believe a police officer). If you are counsel for an individual plaintiff against a company, you want to beware of folks with a heightened respect for establishment (i.e., is more likely to believe a police officer).

If the person has been the victim of a crime. If you get the chance, this is something about which you may want to follow up with the juror. If the person had his wallet stolen once, that will not tell you much, but victims of serious crimes may identify with a plaintiff?s claim of victimization. This is especially true if he or she did not feel protected by the police or if he or she communicates a sense of helplessness.

If the person has been arrested or is close to someone who has been arrested.  Negative experiences with authority typically translates to a bias against whatever party represents authority in the courtroom. Corporate defendants beware.

Finally, take a look at the form in general. Was it filled out correctly? In the most recent jury selection I conducted in Common Pleas Court, an overwhelming majority of people did not fill out the form correctly. That?s right, an overwhelming majority. That tells you something about people and their willingness to follow other kinds of instructions like, let?s say, the instructions of the law that the judge will give them.

As much as that little piece of paper may appear not to contain much information, don?t be deceived. If you take full advantage, it can really give you a high-level picture of some important characteristics of a juror, and can give you a more fruitful foundation to ask follow up in voir dire.

Melissa M. Gomez, Ph.D. is a jury consultant and owner of MMG Jury Consulting LLC. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her experience includes work on more than 100 jury trials in Philadelphia and across the country, with a focus on the psychology of juror learning, behavior and decision-making. She has more than a decade of expertise in research design and methodology, as well as in behavioral and communication skills training.

This posting is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as advice specific to any matter. Each case is different and no strategy applies uniformly to all.

If you have any questions regarding jury psychology that you would like to see addressed in this blog, please contact Dr. Gomez at melissa@mmgjury.com or call 215-292-7956.

Melissa M. Gomez, Ph.D.
MMG Jury Consulting, LLC
www.mmgjury.com

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on May 28, 2009 (boomark / email).