Getting the Jury You Want Using Good Juror Questionnaires

One of the main factors that can determine your success or failure on a case is who sits on the jury deciding that case. The traditional method, where the attorney asked a potential juror a set of questions and then decided on “gut instinct” whether to keep or strike a juror, is slowly changing. Many attorneys, working with trial consultants, have discovered that written questionnaires can augment their tried and true techniques. This explains why the use of written juror questionnaires in civil cases is now routine in many parts of the country.
There are several good reasons why a well-written juror questionnaire can help you find the jurors you want:
· It gives the juror more time to think about the questions and to answer them accurately
· It elicits more candid responses from jurors
· It can ask personal questions that cannot appropriately be asked in open court
· It permits counsel to efficiently learn more information about potential jurors than is allowed during oral voir dire
· It allows counsel to ask follow-up questions to clarify answers on the written questionnaire
· It greatly reduces the risk of a maverick juror who may taint the entire panel
Once you have decided to use a written questionnaire, you need to get approved by the Court. You could hire a trial consulting firm to do the work, but what if that is not in your budget. Here are some tips on writing a useful juror questionnaire that will be approved by the Court:
· Keep It Short- Most judges will not inflict a 30-page monstrosity on a potential juror. Try to keep it to one page, double-sided, if possible. You can do this by turning the page landscape-style to fit three columns of questions, shrink the font, and leave room only where written answers are essential. Jurors will also be intimidated by the length and rush through it. They will not answer the questions as fully and accurately as you would like.
· Correlate the Questions with Verdict Orientation-There is, for example, no reason to inquire about the juror’s military service, television viewing habits, or use of the Internet unless you have some reason to believe that the answers to those questions will be useful in predicting how the juror is likely to vote in your case. However, try to write questions in which the correlation is not obvious. If you write questions that explicitly identify a potential juror who would not be good for the opposing side, they may then seek to excuse those jurors. Also, judges do not want to have the court handing out something that looks prejudiced toward one side.
· Write Questions That Measure Value Characteristics- Value characteristics are the predictive variables represented by deeper beliefs, values and attitudes held by the individual. They will take you more time and thinking to identify them, but they are the most important in identifying the bad jurors. You may have come to the conclusion that 90% of Hispanics, who work in non-executive jobs, will favor a shopper who slips and falls in a grocery store on a wet spot. But when you come to a Hispanic on the panel and you only know the status characteristics, you do not know if you are faced with one of the 10% who is not going to favor the shopper. Questions that ask about value characteristics will better identify how that juror will respond.
· Phrase Questions Using Categories That Reveal Extreme or Emotional Responses- You should write questions with at least four categories of response (rather than just “yes/no” or “agree/disagree”) to find the jurors who are on the extreme. It is best to use four categories of response with attitude statements. For example, use “strongly agree”, “somewhat agree”, “somewhat agree”, and “strongly disagree” as possible answers. This range of choices forces jurors into one of these four categories and does not allow a juror to escape by stating “no opinion” or “no response”. However, some courts will be more receptive to attitude questions if you add a fifth response of “neutral” or “no opinion.”

Finding the right jurors can mean the difference between success and failure. Using a written juror questionnaire is one tool to help you better select jurors. Hopefully, this article has given you a start on writing effective jury questionnaires.