Susan Zuiderveen
Susan Zuiderveen is a third-year Cooley student serving on an externship. This is the second post in a series she is writing.
Today I was able to observe voir dire for a civil case. It was a great learning experience. As the attorneys asked the questions, I tried to understand why they asked what they did and how the answers helped the attorneys decide whether or not to keep the juror on the panel. Voir dire is a process of trying to understand how the juror’s life experiences and innermost thoughts on issues may affect how they view the issues in the case. It is easy to see why there are companies that specialize in jury selection. Voir dire is a complex process of trying to ensure a fair jury to both the plaintiff and the defendant while trying to retain those jurors that most likely would be favorable to your client. Jury selection is certainly an important aspect of planning your case that requires research and thought. This is definitely an area I would like to learn more about.
