Video: Two Tips for Better Jury Selection
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Comments policy: Be cool. Uncool things (infantile comments, racist crap, spam links, etc) will be removed.
Comments policy: Be cool. Uncool things (infantile comments, racist crap, spam links, etc) will be removed.
Challenge for cause would be a good topic!
I especially like the tip on widening the question. Very Intelligent. Have you done a challenge for cause with a jury
Thanks. That you tell us what the point of the technique is- don’t embarrass any juror- is very helpful.
Elliot, both written and video formats work for me. I can get through the written format quicker. But, I can listen to the video while working on other stuff.
In my local courts, the jurors are given a questionnaire and read the answers out loud. One of the questions is have you, a close friend or relative ever been accused of, convicted of, witness to, or victim of a crime. If they answer is yes, the judge will ask the follow up questions. Attorneys can follow up in their voir dire if they want. The advantage of this is the judge does the embarrassing, not the lawyers.
I absolutely love receiving your trial tips newsletter every week and it is ALWAYS extremely helpful, especially because I am a trial attorney and can relate so well to the information in your newsletter. Both the written newsletter and the audio/video version are great, but I think I prefer the written newsletter because it enables me to have a quick reference that I can put my hands on before court rather than having to log onto your website and pull the information off of the computer. Keep up the good work on the newsletters.
It’s a good tip- I started doing this on the advise of a well-respected adversary a couple of years ago and it’s really helped me. While I do like print form better, this was nice for change.
Elliott,
Great tip! Sorry to see people on here actually “complaining” about your FREE tip!!!! Like saying they’d rather have them in print. Unreal. Anyway, keep up the great work and thank you for sharing your experiences. To all others–remember Elliott is doing this for FREE!
All the best,
Phil from Chicago
excellent way to handle a tricky situation w/out alienating the jury panel. I’ve seen this done the right way and the wrong way, and can attest that saving the juror from being outed is certainly a step toward a juror having a favorable opinion of the lawyer and the case.
Elliot, I like combination of your news letter and videos. But I wish you put the camera in front of you and talk to the camera. You still can use slides with titles and bullet points,which is great and I enjoy hearing your voice but it would be great to have a couple 10-20 second video clips of you talking.
Good tips and good video, but I prefer the written version
Two very good suggestions.
Great tip. It makes perfect sense, I certainly will use this.
Dear Elliot,
Nice tip. It makes you think not only of the specific technique, but of the underlying issues and ideas concerning jury selection.
i like them both.i can listen to a clip while i am attending to some mundane tasks at my desk but the hard copy is more useful for future reference (i save them too).
Very informative. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the tips. Keep ’em coming. Would it be possible to provide a link to a text version of the information contained in your videos?
Great Stuff, Elliot. I like the videos, although for some who print out the tips, you might want to make the slides available.
Here in my office, we run criminal history on the venire prior to jury selection, but you’d be surprised at how many don’t fess up. Embarrassment is a powerful emotion and I like your tip on broadening the scope of the question. Thanks and keep’em coming!
I can’t even get the video to play, so I’d say I prefer the written newsletter.
First, I agree with Michael above. I print out and save your tips,as well as forwarding them to colleagues, so the written format is more convenient. And, thanks for doing your newsletter. Second, just last week you recognized that in this day and age what I call “sleepers” are invading the jury pool (they’ll lie to get on the jury). So please be clear that SOME jurors DO NOT want to open up and be honest, and the lawyer has to , among all the other things we do during voir dire, look for sleepers.
Elliott, you asked for my feedback, so I’ve gotta say I prefer the written articles. (I print them out and keep them in a 3 ring binder.) But, as always, let me say “thanks” for all of the good tips — even your free stuff has helped me win trials!
Jury selection is one of the hardest parts of jury trials for me, so any tips that you can share are very much appreciated. I’m passing along this link to the other attorneys in my office, because I think we’ve all probably made the same mistake you described about “outing” a juror.
A good reminder for experienced attorneys, and an essential teaching tip for new attorneys. I’ve seen how an embarrassed juror can absolutely KILL any rapport you’ve established with the jury panel. The first tip you gave about “expanding the scope” was something I’m going to work into my very next jury selection — thanks!