Voir dire (French for “to speak truth”) is part of the jury selection process. It’s primary purpose is to find “indifferent” jurors to hear and decide the facts of a lawsuit.
In Massachusetts, anyone who is eligible to vote–whether they have registered or not–can be selected for jury service.
Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 234A § 22, all perspective jurors must fill out a questionnaire and provide the following information to the court:
- juror’s name,
- sex,
- age,
- residence,
- marital status,
- number and ages of children,
- education level, occupation,
- employment address, spouse’s occupation,
- spouse’s employment address,
- previous service as a juror,
- present or past involvement as a party to civil or criminal litigation,
- relationship to a police or law enforcement officer.
After completing the questionnaire, the potential jurors enter the courtroom where the judge will conduct voir dire.
Typically the judge questions jurors as a group to see if there are any immediately recognizable connections between them and the litigants or their attorneys. Additionally, the judge will ask jurors if they have any bias and preconceptions about the parties or the case which might affect their impartiality.
If a juror appears to have some type of interest in the lawsuit, the judge will direct the juror to approach the bench. Here the judge, the juror, and the lawyers will conduct follow up questions in a more private manner.
If it’s determined that the juror is not indifferent, he or she will be dismissed.
If a lawyer wishes to question jurors directly during the voir dire, he must file a written request at least five days prior to the trial.
The trial judge has a great deal of discretion when determining what questions a lawyer may ask jurors. Additionally, the judge chooses how lawyer-juror questioning will take place, e.g., one-on-one questioning, group questioning, etc.