BEFORE YOU GET TO COURT

Jury selection might have become more restrictive in some jurisdictions, but that doesn’t mean that good voir dire can’t be had. Every case and every judge is different. We’ve learned that if you never ask for good voir dire, chances are, you will never get it. We approach every case with optimism because we’ve continually experienced meaningful voir dire in jurisdictions where we’ve been told time and again, “there’s no voir dire here!”

We work with the attorneys to develop a jury selection strategy that makes most sense for the particular case and is most likely to be acceptable to the presiding judge.

In jurisdictions with judge-conducted voir dire: We familiarize ourselves with the case and phrase questions that are neutral enough to be asked by the judge, but still capable of flushing out jurors with harmful biases.

In jurisdictions with attorney-conducted voir dire: We familiarize ourselves with the case and draft questions for the attorney to ask. We also give the attorney specific communication strategies to deal with the difficulties that arise in this format. From what we see, too much time is wasted on techniques that do little to reveal key biases. Our approach makes jurors feel comfortable disclosing biases that are most threatening to your client. This results in more successful challenges for cause and more strategic use of peremptory challenges.

IN-COURT ASSISTANCE

In most jurisdictions, jury selection is extremely fast-paced. Our ability to quickly hone in on jurors’ subtleties gives attorneys another perspective that helps them gain a deeper understanding of jurors' values, motivations, and decision-making processes. We constantly prioritize and re-prioritize the jurors who are most problematic for your case. When the judge gives you just a few minutes to make for cause challenges, we’re ready with a list of who should be challenged and why. When the time comes to exercise peremptory strikes, again, we’re ready with a list of who should be stricken, in what order, and why. We give you strategic recommendations so you can consider all relevant facts and theories when making these critical decisions.

It’s never easy to go it alone: Compared to the other tasks that take up attorneys’ time, just a small fraction of time is spent on jury selection. This can make some lawyers feel rusty and rusty or not, there’s a lot going on at once. In jurisdictions where attorneys question jurors, it’s almost impossible to establish a good rapport while at the same time intelligently assess each juror. We divide the labor in court: Regardless of where your attention must be, we are focused on every little thing each juror has said. Our ears are perked and we when we suggest a critical follow up question that results in a juror being dismissed for cause, clients understand that jury selection is indeed more than a one-person job.

The benefits of working with a bar-admitted trial consultant: Carolyn S. Koch is bar-admitted and as a result, has been able to participate in jury selections, even when all voir dire occurs in the judge’s chambers. Being a trial consultant is no guarantee that a judge will allow such participation, but a pro hac vice motion always guarantees such critical access, allowing you to get your money’s worth from having a consultant at your side.

WRITTEN JUROR QUESTIONNAIRES

It’s amazing how honest jurors are when they state their opinions and experiences privately, without self-consciousness. But even if judges aren’t moved by the tantalizing thought of meaningful voir dire, they can be convinced that traditional voir dire will self-destruct in the face of a complex, time-consuming or high-profile case. Jurors often have no idea until they step into the courtroom that they are being questioned for a long case. When they find out a case might take four weeks, panic strikes and jury selection becomes nothing more than one hardship inquiry after the next. Rather than wait for disaster to strike, we’ve been able to point out these problems in advance and get permission to use written questionnaires as a way of eliminating the “hardship parade.” And contrary to popular beliefs, effective questionnaires are not 50 pages long. They are typically concise and can give the litigants greater amounts of testimony in less time than traditional voir dire.

Once the questionnaires are filled out, we analyze jurors' attitudes and values, and rank them in order from best to worst. Strategies are devised for any follow-up questions, as well as making challenges for cause. When questionnaires are done right, you often know so much about jurors just from the written page that oral voir dire adds very little new information. In other words, when you see the actual juror, his or her appearance and demeanor is almost always completely consistent with how they came across in their written questionnaire. Follow-up voir dire is best used for those jurors who gave little feedback on their questionnaires.

THE ADDED BENEFIT of PERSONALITY TYPE ANALYSIS

Personality Type is a psychological model that originated from the work of psychologist Carl Jung, as well as Isabel Briggs Meyers and Katherine Briggs. Understanding personality type is the key to knowing what kind of information people focus on (facts or possibilities), and how they make decisions (personally or objectively). We use Personality Type assessments in our mock trials and also during jury selection. With experience, type cues can be discerned in-court, based on a juror's testimony (word choice, phraseology, value statements) and appearance (demeanor, mannerisms, style). This additional information gives the attorney one more opportunity to assess a juror's likely responses to particular case issues, facts, and theories. (For an example, see the article, "Improving the Odds: Using Mock Trials to Hone Strategies", published in The Trial Lawyer.)

COSTS

Most projects are billed on a "per project basis" and costs depend on the size and scope of the project. We will gladly provide interested parties with a cost assessment after a discussion of case particulars and litigation goals.

A mock trial is typically a one-day research session in which mock jurors hear comprehensive, adversarial case presentations.  The presentations include exhibits and videotaped testimonial excerpts when possible. We work with our clients to develop case presentations that are equally strong and balanced. 

At each critical juncture (after each side of the case, jury instructions and before deliberating) jurors respond to a series of comprehensive written questionnaires which  reveal every juror’s opinion about each key fact and issue presented to them.  Ultimately, the questionnaire responses provide a blueprint of case strengths and weaknesses. 

After the questionnaires are completed, jurors are divided into panels and deliberate to a verdict.  The entire research session is held in rooms with two-way mirrors or with closed-circuit monitoring so attorneys can observe the jury's deliberations undetected. After a verdict is reached, jurors are debriefed about why they felt the way that they did.