JURY SELECTION

Los Angeles Criminal Jury Trial Defense

It is often said that jury trials are won or lost during the jury selection (also called “voir dire”) process.  While this might seem to slight the rest of the process (opening statements, cross-examination of the prosecution’s witnesses, calling of defense witnesses, and of course, closing arguments), the jury selection process will be the defense’s first opportunity to meet the individuals who will decide the defendant’s fate.  Not only is it important to disqualify jurors who may be biased and unfair, but it is important to make sure jurors will take in the statements and evidence they are about to hear through the right lens.  A great trial lawyer will educate and empower the jurors to hold the government to its very high burden, and demand only the most competent evidence to use against the client.  Jurors who are comfortable with guesswork or who are inclined to believe police and other government witnesses should not be on the jury at all, and must be removed.  At the same time, if jurors are biased against law enforcement, we want to try to rehabilitate those jurors so that the prosecution cannot remove them.  After a process that usually takes a day or more, your Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney will accept only a panel of jurors who can view the evidence fairly, hold the government to their very high burden, and look for holes and mistakes in the government’s case.

How Does Jury Selection Work?
Juries are selected by a negative process, wherein each party gets an opportunity to question the prospective jurors, listen to their responses to questions posed by the judge, and, most importantly, to remove jurors who will be unfair or biased.  There are two types of challenges to a potential juror:  peremptory challenges and for-cause challenges.  Peremptory challenges are limited in number, and do not require a showing that the potential juror is unfit.  Challenges for cause are unlimited in number, but only applicable where a juror has expressed a bias or limitation that would make them unfit to sit on the jury.  It is important that your criminal defense attorney at trial understand which questions to ask, and which questions not to ask, to end up with the best jury.  Once both sides have exercised their challenges, the remaining top 12 jurors will form the jury, and another two jurors are usually kept as alternates (in the event a member of the juror is unable to continue during trial).  Selecting the right jurors, and making sure that those who stay are committed to justice, is imperative, and something your lawyer needs to be great at doing if you hope to have a two-word verdict (NOT GUILTY) at the conclusion of your trial.

Presumption of Innocence
The first part of my jury selection questions always center around the presumption of innocence.  Most Americans are familiar with the concept, and are in agreement that it is important to the concept of American Liberty.  Still, very few people come it with a TRUE presumption of innocence in a criminal case.  I ask the panel “who here believes in the presumption of innocence?” to which most will raise their hands.  When pressed further, however, we see that most people either presume some wrongdoing, or make no presumptions at all.  This is unacceptable.  The way that I remedy this is by asking individual jurors provocative questions such as “did the government make a mistake in charging my client?”  If the prospective juror is truly presuming the defendant to be innocent, that means that the client did nothing wrong, and is being tried by mistake.  Saying “I don’t know” is NOT a presumption of innocence.  Often times, judges will instruct the jury that the presumption of innocence means that if the jury was to deliberate before hearing any evidence, they would have to find the defendant not guilty.  This is dead wrong and dangerous.  While it is true that a jury must acquit without evidence, this presumption is not strong enough.  A juror who votes “not guilty” is not making a finding of innocence, but rather that there was not enough evidence to convict.  This means that jurors who simply start off with the notion that the defendant has not yet been proven guilty are not presuming the defendant truly innocent.  Asking jurors to imagine that a friend or loved one is accused of a crime helps to show how they might presume a loved one innocent, and must do the same for the defendant, despite being strangers.  Unfortunately, many defense attorneys never correct this misapplication of the presumption.  Judges, prosecutors, and even defense attorneys are typically taken back by this approach, but it is the only correct approach. Simply, a presumption of anything less than innocence is not something a person facing criminal charges can afford to do.  

Preparing Jurors to Look at the Evidence with Skepticism
Many prospective jurors have been led, by media, to believe that police thoroughly investigate crimes, do extensive forensic analysis, and thereby properly save crimes.  This preconception can be very dangerous for defendants.  With the sophisticated crime labs and intelligent/experienced detectives we see on television, we come to believe that when the police conclude someone is guilty, they are probably right.  Moving jurors away from this practice, and striking those who cannot be moved away from it, is paramount to an effective defense at trial.  

Batson/Wheeler
For years, prosecuting attorneys sought to make the panel of jurors as unfair, and as likely to convict as they can.  By profiling jurors, mostly by race, political affiliation, and socio-economic status, prosecutors would seek to stack the odds against the defendant.  Still hoping to win their trials, prosecutors will seek to end up with a jury that leans conservative, lacks negative experiences with law enforcement, and is less likely to empathize with a defendant.  Luckily, the California and US Supreme Courts have prohibited the use of peremptory challenges in this way.  Neither party may seek to eliminate jurors on the basis of race, sex, or membership in a wide-array of other cognizable classes.  Effectively guarding against improper biasing of the jury requires keen observation, quick-thinking, and a strong grasp of the cases dealing with this issue.  It is up to your criminal defense lawyer to notice what is happening, raise timely objections, and effectively argue.

IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE IS FACING CRIMINAL CHARGES, AND IS LIKELY TO TAKE THE CASE TO TRIAL, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOUR LOS ANGELES CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY IS SKILLED IN THE PROCESS OF JURY SELECTION.  CONTACT THE LAW OFFICES OF NICHOLAS LONCAR NOW FOR A FREE CONSULTATION AND TO DISCUSS HOW YOUR CASE CAN BE BEST PRESENTED TO ACHIEVE THE BEST POSSIBLE RESULT.  CALL NOW TO SPEAK WITH A LAWYER 213-375-3775.

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