Prospective Juror Questionnaires Made Easy[dagger]

Daniels, John P

I.

INTRODUCTION

Traditionally, attorneys have relied upon oral voir dire to elicit information from potential jurors. Because these questions are asked in the presence of the judge, counsel and other potential jurors, potential jurors may be hesitant or embarrassed to answer the questions truthfully. As a result, questions about sensitive issues such as economic status, physical health, mental health and prejudices or biases are very hard for attorneys to address for fear of embarrassing the potential juror. However, some of this information can be invaluable to attorneys when selecting the best jurors for the case.

Consequently, in some cases, courts allow the use of Prospective Juror Questionnaires. The questionnaires are used to gather information about potential jurors for use in jury selection. In addition to background information, the questionnaires address a variety of aspects of the jurors' lives including, household income, political affiliations, membership in community organization, knowledge of the witnesses, attorneys or parties, knowledge of the case and pre-existing opinions. The questionnaires also address the juror's opinions relevant to the case (e.g., views on negligence, liability, oral contracts, punitive damages, victim compensation).

II.

DESIGN OF QUESTIONS

The questions are designed to help the court and the attorneys learn about the jurors' background, their views, personal experiences and their family members' experiences on issues that may be related to the case or effect their opinion on the case. In short, the questionnaires are to make certain that the juror can be fair and impartial. Because many people are uncomfortable speaking publicly, when asked questions during oral voir dire they only provide cursory information. But, on a written questionnaire, jurors are more likely to provide more insightful information more accurately reflecting any prejudices, biases or pre-existing opinions than they would provide verbally in court. Additionally, the use of questionnaires also gives jurors time to provide more thoughtful answers.

The most effective juror questionnaires will identify the characteristics making a juror risky or favorable. In some cases, these characteristics are readily observable (e.g., employment-related variables, income levels and ethnicity). In other cases, these predictive variables are represented by deeper beliefs, values and attitudes held by the individual.

Most importantly, juror questionnaires save time in oral voir dire by eliminating the repetition of generic questions. The questionnaires identify the specific areas of potential bias, so that the voir dire process can be more focused and the follow-up questions more effective.

Typical juror questionnaires are approximately ten to fifteen pages, containing both yes/no answer questions and questions that require narrative answers. However, the length of the questionnaire varies depending on the complexity or publicity of the trial. In some cases the questionnaires can be as short as three to five pages. In the OJ. Simpson trial the questionnaire was approximately eighty pages. After the proposed questionnaires have been submitted to the judge, they can either be mailed out prior to jury selection or can be completed when jurors are assembled for trial. However, regardless of what approach is taken, there needs to be a sufficient amount of time between the completion of the questionnaire and the beginning of oral voir dire for the parties to have an opportunity to review the answers.

III.

SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE

The following is a sample of a jury questionnaire for a civil case. Notice that the first half of the questionnaire is generic background information, helpful in all cases: questions regarding education, work, economic status, affiliations, jury experience and involvement in lawsuits. The second half of the questionnaire is more case specific. In the particular instance, the questions are regarding the potential juror's opinions on contracts, investments, real estate and punitive damages. In examining what follows, be aware that the space for some answers has been limited for this article to less than would ordinarily be provided to a perspective juror.

Jury Questionnaire

1. Age: ___

2. Place of Birth: __________

3. Marital Status: ___Single, ___Currently Married, ___Divorced, ___Widowed, ___Live with non-marital partner, ___Other

4. Is English your first language? ___Yes, ___No. If NO, what is? _____

5. How long have you lived in the area? ___

6. Do you: ___Rent, ___Own, ___Live with others & do not pay rent

7. What is the highest level of education you completed? ___Some High School, ___High School Graduate, ___Technical/Vocational, ___Some College (Major)__________, ___College Graduate (Major) __________, ___Postgraduate study (Field) __________

8. If you plan to attend or are currently attending school, describe: __________

9. What is the highest level of education your spouse/significant other has completed? ___Some high school, ___High school graduate, ___Technical/Vocational, ___Some college (Major) __________, ___College graduate (Major) __________, ___Postgraduate degree (Field) __________, ___Other

10. Would you say that in the past few years your economic situation has: ___Gotten better, ___Stayed the Same, ___Gotten Worse

11. Your present employment status (check all that apply): ___Employed Full-time, ___Employed Part-time, ___Temporarily laid off, ___Unemployed & looking for work, ___Unemployed & not looking for work, ___Self-employed, ___Student, ___Part-time student, Working more than one job, ___Retired

12. Your current or most recent occupation: __________

13. Name of your current or most recent employer, or if a student your school: __________

14. Please list all other employment you have had in the past and for how long: __________

15. How many employers have you had over the past 10 years? _____. What are your specific duties and responsibilities on the job? __________

16. Have you or has any member of your family ever owned or run a business: ___Yes, ___No. If YES, please describe business: __________

17. Are you involved in the hiring and firing of other employees? ___Yes, ___No

18. Are you involved in evaluating the job performance of other employees? ___Yes, ___No

19. Please list all full-time employment of your spouse/former spouse (and for how long): __________

20. Please list employment of any other adult who lives in your home (and for how long): __________

21. In general, do you support the goals and activities of unions nowadays? ___Yes, ___No

22. If you or your current spouse or partner have ever served in the military please list for each the brand of service and the dates of service: __________

23. What is your main source of news? __Television, __Radio, __Internet, ___Newspapers, ___News Magazines, ___Word of mouth, friends.

24. What social, civic, civil rights, trade, or other organizations are you affiliated with or do you give money to if any? __________

25. Describe any offices you have held in organization listed above: __________

26. What magazine or newspapers, if any do you read regularly? __________

27. How frequently have you been a group leader? ___Very frequently, ___Occasionally, ___Sometimes, ___Never

28. Have you or any of your family members ever sued or been sued by anyone? ___Yes, ___No. If YES, please explain.

29. If you or anyone close to you has ever filed a lawsuit or made any type of claim for damages, explain: _______________

30. Have you ever considered suing someone but did not for any reason? ___Yes, ___No. If YES, please explain.

31. If a claim for money damages or a lawsuit has ever been brought against you or anyone close to you, explain the circumstances: _______________

32. Do you know anyone on this jury panel? ___Yes, ___No. If YES, please explain _______________.

33. On how many cases have you served on a jury? ___0, ___1, ___2, ___More than 2. Where did you serve on a jury? _______________. What kinds of cases did you hear while serving: ___Civil, ___Criminal, ___Both civil and criminal. In how many of those cases did the jury reach a verdict? ___. In how many of those cases did you serve as the jury foreperson? ___. Was your jury service a positive or negative experience? ___Positive, ___Negative. Explain: __________

34. If you have been to court for any other reason explain:__________

35. Have you, a member of your family, or close friend ever had any legal training or worked with lawyers? ___Yes, I have, ___Yes, someone close to me has, ___No. If YES, please explain what type of training or experience and when:_______________

36. If you have relatives or close personal friends who are judges or attorneys or court personnel, what are their names, relationship to you, and their position?

37. An important function of juries in America is to send messages to corporations and individuals to improve their behavior: __Strongly disagree, __Disagree, __Agree, __Strongly agree.

38. People who file lawsuits are trying to place responsibility where it belongs: __Strongly disagree, __Disagree, __Agree, __Strongly agree.

39. What a contract says is more important than what the parties intend it to mean: __Strongly disagree, __Disagree, __Agree, __Strongly agree.

40. In a trial, I would believe what a document says over what a witness says: __Strongly disagree, __Disagree, __Agree, __Strongly agree.

41. Punitive damages are sometimes used to punish corporations and individuals for past behavior and to deter similar behavior in the future. What is your general attitude toward awarding punitive damages? _____________

42. Have you ever been denied compensation that was owed to you? ___Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

43. Have you ever loaned a large amount of money to someone? ___Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

44. Have you ever signed a formal business agreement? ___Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

45. Have you ever been involved in a dispute over a contract or suffered negative consequences because of a contract? ___Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

46. Have you ever been an employee for a company that was involved in a contract dispute? ___Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

47. Do you have any special training or experience with contracts (administration, negotiation, writing, etc)? __Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

48. Do you think that an oral contract is as binding or legal as a written contract? ___Yes, __No, __Unsure

49. Do you think that an oral agreement should be honored under any circumstances? ___Yes, __No, __Unsure

50. Have you, or has anyone close to you, ever been a party to an oral contract involving a large amount of money? ___Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

51. How would you rate your level of knowledge about the real estate market? __Very Knowledgeable, __Somewhat knowledgeable, __No Knowledge

52. How would you rate your level of knowledge about investments or financial matters? ___Very Knowledgeable, __Somewhat knowledgeable, __No Knowledge

53. How would you describe your general investment strategy? Very risky, __Somewhat risky, Very conservative, __Somewhat conservative, __I do not make investments.

54. Have you ever lost a significant amount of money in an investment? __Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

55. Have you ever felt cheated in an investment, business situation or consumer transaction? ___Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

56. To what extent do you trust stockbrokers, real estate brokers and other people who invest money for others? __Not at all, __Not too much, __Somewhat, __Quite a bit

57. Have you or has anyone close to you, ever been involved in making investments for other people? Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

58. Have you or has anyone close to you had any training or work experience in any of the following: Accounting, Banking, Business Management, Construction, Insurance, Mental Health or Medicine, Real Estate Appraisal, Real Estate Lending or Borrowing. ___Yes I have, __Yes, someone close to me has, __No. If YES, please explain.

59. Which of the following attitude best describes how you feel about business nowadays? __Buyer beware, __Seller be fair

60. Have you or has anyone close to you ever been involved in purchasing or managing real estate as an investment? __Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

61. Have you or has anyone close to you, ever worked or had any experience with partnerships or other business ventures or investments with other people? ___Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

62. Do you believe that people who lost money on an investment should be reimbursed? ___Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

63. Have you or a close family member ever filed for bankruptcy? ___Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

64. Have you, or has anyone close to you, ever suffered significant losses in the real estate market? ___Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

65. Do you have any ethical, religious, political or other beliefs that may prevent you from serving as a juror? ___Yes, __No. If YES, please explain.

66. Describe any problems (vision, hearing, language difficulty or other medical problems) that may affect your jury service: __________________

67. Describe any medication you are currently taking: ______________

68. If there is any matter, not covered by this questionnaire that could affect your ability to be a fair and impartial juror, please explain: ____________

IV.

PROCEDURE FOR USE

The most common practice is that the questionnaires are to be distributed and filled out by the jurors on the first day of trial. After the questionnaires are collected, the attorneys have the afternoon and evening (if they are lucky) to assimilate the information into a usable form. It is extremely important for the attorney to have a group of attorneys help him assimilate the information. This involves establishing the most important factors/characteristics, determining what needs to be asked in oral voir dire and organizing the questionnaires into a usable form. A common method is using a highlighter or "post its" to tag questions or answers that the attorney wants to follow up on during oral voir dire. One of the biggest benefits of the questionnaire is that the attorney already has an abundance of information on each juror to prepare questions to ask and what issues to focus on during oral voir dire. For example, a follow up question could now be, "Mr. Jones, I see here that you have been involved in a contract dispute. Could you please tell us about it." The jury questionnaire can be tremendously helpful, but if the attorney does not get the information into a workable form, the lawyer will have great difficulty trying to read through the questionnaires during voir dire.

The jury questionnaires provide attorneys with an abundance of information that can assist them in the selection process. However, because there is so much information, it is often unmanageable. Therefore the information in the questionnaires must be reduced into a manageable form. Fortunately, a ranking system of "jury codes" has been developed to assist attorneys with this very problem. The most efficient way to use jury questionnaires is to first establish which characteristics/factor are the most predictive and use questions that will gather information or the juror's opinions relative to those factors. Then create a checklist that contains all of those factors and attach a copy of the checklist to each completed questionnaire. The following is a sample checklist with 67 factors/characteristics that can be taken into consideration when selecting a juror. Each factor on the list below correlates to a question in the sample questionnaire.

V.

JUROR SELECTION

Below is a list of all of the various factors/characteristics that can taken into consideration when selecting a juror. A sample juror questionnaire has also been provided. Each factor on the list below correlates to a question in the sample questionnaire. Obviously not all of the factors below are relevant in every case and some cases may require additional factors to be taken into consideration.

Potential Juror Characteristics

1) Age (A)

2) Marital Status (M)

3) Whether English is their first language (LANG)

4) How long they have been a resident in the area in which they live (R)

5) Ownership vs. rental of residence/property (OWN)

6) Satisfaction with living arrangement/area (SAT)

7) Highest level of education the juror has completed (ED)

8) Whether the juror currently attends school or plans to attend school (SCHOOL)

9) Highest level of education of juror's spouse or significant other has completed (HI-ED)

10) Juror's Economic Situation (improved or gotten worse over the past few years) (ECON)

11) Juror's current Employment Status (full-time/part-time/unemployed/srudent/working more than one job (EMP)

12) Juror's current or most recent occupation (JOB)

13) Name of current or most recent employer (EMPLYR)

14) Juror's past employment (EMPHIS)

15) Number of employers over the past 10 years (#EMP)

16) Experience in ownership or running of business (BUS)

17) Involvement in hiring and firing other employees (HIRE)

18) Involvement in evaluating the job performance of other employees (EVAL)

19) Spouse's and/or former spouse's employment history (SPSE EMPLYR)

20) Employment of other adults living in the juror's home (EMP CHILD)

21) Juror's support of goals and activities of unions (UNION)

22) Juror or spouses service in the military (MIL)

23) Juror's main source of news (NEWS)

24) Juror's social, civic, civil rights, trade or other organizational affiliations (SOCIALIZE)

25) Juror's offices in any of the above mentioned organizations (OFF)

26) Magazines or newspapers regularly read by juror (MAGS)

27) Juror's frequency of being a group leader (LEADER)

28) Juror's or family member's previous experience being sued (SUED)

29) Juror or anyone close to juror's previous experience in filing a lawsuit or making a claim for damages (LAWSUIT)

30) Juror's consideration of suing someone, then deciding not to (CLAIM)

31) Claim for money damages or a lawsuit brought against juror or someone close to him/her (MONEY)

32) Knowledge of someone else on the jury panel (JURY)

33) Past experience as a juror (how many times, where, civil/criminal, positive/negative experience) (JD)

34) Any other reason the juror may have been to court (COURT)

35) Juror's or someone close to the juror's legal training or work with lawyers (LEGAL)

36) Relatives or friends that are judges, attorneys or court personnel (ATTY)

37) Juror's opinion about juries' function of sending messages to corporations and individuals to improve their behavior (agree/disagree) (JURY FUNC)

38) Juror's opinion regarding plaintiffs filing lawsuits to place responsibility where it belongs (agree/disagree) (RESP)

39) Juror's opinions about contracts: What's more important, what the contract says vs. what parties intended it to mean (K)

40) What the juror is more likely to believe, what a document says vs. what a witness says (K vs. O)

41) General attitude towards awarding punitive damages (PUNI)

42) Past denial of compensation that was owed to juror (DCOMP)

43) Previous loans the juror gave, were they repaid? (LOAN)

44) Juror's experience in signing a formal business agreement (SIGN-B)

45) Jurors involvement in a dispute over a contract (did juror suffer negative consequences of the contract) (DIS-K)

46) Juror's employment for a company that was involved in a contract dispute (EMP-K)

47) Special training or experience with contracts, administration or negotiation (TRAIN-K)

48) Opinions on oral contracts: Are they as binding as written contracts (OK vs. WK)

49) Juror's opinion whether oral agreements always be honored (ORAL)

50) Juror's involvement in an oral contract involving a large amount of money (ORAL-K-MON)

51) Juror's level of knowledge about the real estate market (very knowledgeable/no knowledge) (RE)

52) Juror's level of knowledge about investments or financial matters (FIN)

53) Juror's general investment strategy (very risky/very conservative) (INVEST STRAT)

54) Juror's loss of significant amount of money in an investment (LOST)

55) Juror's feelings about being cheated in an investment, business situation or consumer transaction (CHEAT)

56) Juror's trust of stockbrokers, real estate brokers, and other people who invest money (BROKERS)

57) Juror's involvement in making investments for other people. (IN-OTHERS)

58) Juror's or someone close to the juror's experience or training in Accounting, Banking, Business Management, Construction, Insurance, Mental Health or Medicine, Real Estate Appraisal, Real Estate Lending or Borrowing (PROF)

59) Juror's attitudes towards business (Seller be fair vs. Buyer beware) (BUSATTID)

60) Juror's or someone close to the juror's involvement in purchasing or managing real estate as an investment (RE)

61) Juror's or someone close to the juror's experience in partnerships or other business ventures or investments (PTRSHIP)

62) Juror's opinion on whether people who loose money on an investment should be reimbursed (REIMB)

63) Juror or someone close to the juror filing for bankruptcy (BK)

64) Juror's or someone close to the juror's significant losses in the real estate market (LOSS)

65) Juror's ethical, religious, political or other beliefs that might prevent juror from serving on a jury (REL)

66) Juror's vision, hearing, language difficulty, or other medical problems that may affect their jury service (MED

67) Any medications the juror is currently taking (MEDS)

When reviewing the juror's answers to each question, assign a number 0-5 (see below for coding system) to that factor and write the number of the checklist next to that factor. Obviously, the most favorable jurors will be the potential jurors with the highest numbers and the riskiest jurors will be the ones with the lower numbers.

Coding System

5= Yes! Lets Roll

4 = Likely

3 = Less Likely

2 = Unlikely

1 = Desperate

0 = No way, Jose!

For example, a plaintiff is suing a defendant real estate broker for fraud in connection with a piece of investment property. The plaintiff is claiming that the defendant misrepresented that the property had the proper zoning for its intended use. Question 59 on the questionnaire says, "Which of the following attitudes best describes how you feel about business nowadays - Buyer beware or Seller be fair?" If potential juror #1 responds, "Seller be fair", the plaintiff's attorney is likely to put a "4" or "5" next to "59- Business attitudes" on the checklist, while the defendant's attorney is more likely to put a "2" or "3."

Another example might be a disgruntled investor suing a brokerage firm for fraud because the broker allegedly failed to meet his duty of due diligence and the investor subsequently lost all of his money. Questions 52 through 57 specifically address questions about the juror's investment strategies and opinions about brokers. For example, Question 52 asks, "How would you rate your level of knowledge about investments or financial matters?" Juror #1 responds that he is "very knowledgeable" and Juror #2 responds that he has "no knowledge." The plaintiff may give Juror #1 a "2" or "3" and give Juror #2 a "4." Juror #1 might be less sympathetic with the plaintiff because the plaintiff did not know about his own investments, while Juror #2 might be more sympathetic because he himself doesn't know about financial matters either.

The next question, 53, on the questionnaire says, "How would you describe your general investment strategy?" Juror #1 says, "very risky" while Juror #2 says, "very conservative." Once again, the plaintiff might give Juror #1 a lower score like a "2" or "3" because he is willing to take risks and may not sympathize with the plaintiff for loosing all his money, while, Juror #2 might get a higher number because he might be more sympathetic. Question 55 asks, "Have you ever felt cheated in an investment, business situation or consumer transaction?" If Juror #2 answers "No," this doesn't necessarily mean that the plaintiff should give him a really low number like "0." However, if he answers "yes" the plaintiff would definitely give him a "4" or "5."

Obviously, one of the most helpful questions will be Question 56, "To what extent do you trust stockbrokers, real estate brokers, and other people who invest money for others?" The plaintiff would give Juror #1 who says, "Quite a bit" a lower number and give Juror #2 who says "Not at all" a higher number. Overall, potential juror #2's numbers were higher than potential juror #1 and would be a better choice for the plaintiff. Now that the attorney has a better idea of the juror's background views and opinions, the voir dire process will be more effective because the attorney can follow up on specific issues like how they lost their money in investments or why they have a low opinion of brokers.

VI.

CONCLUSION

There is no doubt that that juror questionnaires are an extremely helpful tool for trial attorneys. However, without a method of condensing the information into a manageable format, an attorney could get lost in the sea of information. This code system allows the attorney to reduce all of the information into numbers for each potential juror. Such a system is extremely beneficial and can maximize the effectiveness of the juror questionnaires.

[dagger] Submitted by the authors on behalf of the FDCC Trial Tactics, Practice and Procedures Section.

Jack Daniels received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth (A.B., 1959) and studied law at the University of Southern California (J.D., 1963). He was admitted to the California bar in 1964. Mr. Daniels is a partner at Daniels Fine Israel & Schonbuch LLP in Los Angeles. His practice areas are trial law, products liability, insurance and mediation. Mr. Daniels is a member of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, State Bar of California, Los Angeles County and American Bar Associations and American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He was president of the Los Angeles ABOTA Chapter in 1994 and of the California Chapter in 1996. Mr Daniels has served as Course Director of the ABOTA Los Angeles Trial Academy since 1988.

Annie L. Knafo graduated from University of California, Los Angeles (B.A. 2002). She is currently attending Loyola University of Los Angeles School of Law (Class of 2006). She has been a law clerk at Daniels, Fine Israel & Schonbuch LLP since June 2004. Ms. Knafo has served as Course Coordinator of the Jack Daniels' Los Angeles ABOTA Trial Academy in 2004 and 2005.

Copyright Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, Inc. Fall 2005
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