The jury selection process in Personal Injury cases is very important. Questioning the potential jurors is a process known as “Voir Dire.” This may be the single most important process in the whole trial. Selecting the jurors who will give you the best chance to win your case is invaluable. For the purpose of simplicity, we will not go deep into preemptive challenges. I will only say that your opposition is able to eliminate certain jurors from the potential juror pool. You are also entitled to eliminate jurors who you feel will help your opponent.
Since the burden of proof is on the Plaintiff in a Personal Injury case, the Plaintiff is generally the party who asks the most questions to the potential jurors. Defendants are given an opportunity to question each juror after the Plaintiff has completed his questioning of that juror. After each grouping of jurors is questioned by both parties, the Plaintiff and Defendant leave the room and discuss which jurors will be eliminated from the selection process or selected to become a final member of the jury panel.
Although this is an oversimplification of the jury selection process, the importance of the process cannot be overstated. You will need an attorney who has a strategy for jury selection that will give you the best chance to end up with a favorable jury panel. If you are not represented by counsel and have questions about your Personal Injury case, please call (516) 858-2620 to speak to a Personal Injury Attorney who can help you with jury selection and any other aspect of your litigation.
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