Jury Selection: Address the Negatives Head-On

Even though one key to an effective jury selection is getting potential jurors to share their biases with you, some lawyers are afraid to deal head-on with topics that they view as potential weaknesses in their case. This can be precisely the wrong approach to take.

During jury selection, seize upon any comments from potential jurors you perceive as negative as a chance to expose the panel to your point of view. Has one of the jurors admitted that he doesn't trust corporations? It's the defense lawyer's chance to remind the panel that corporations are not cold-hearted abstractions, but are made up, from top to bottom, of people like those sitting on the panel.

Has another juror, expressing an anti-plaintiff sentiment, complained about the McDonald's case? It's the plaintiff lawyer's chance not only to point out the severity of the injuries in the McDonald's case, but also to assure the jury that frivolous cases, when they exist, are wrong--and that the case at bar can be distinguished from any case in which the plaintiff was not truly harmed.

While this might be Jury Selection 101 to some, it also suggests a way to develop a plan for jury selection that will work for any case: make a list of the five or ten things about your case or defense that worry you the most, then prepare counter-arguments in the form of questions that can be presented to the panel when those issues arise.

Part II: "Jury Selection: Expressing a Point of View with Questions."