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How the Jury is Selected
 At
the opening of a trial, jurors are selected to try the case. Civil juries
are generally comprised of six persons. Criminal cases wherein a felony is
charged are comprised of 12 persons, while all other criminal juries have 6
members. Prospective jurors are seated in the jury box, and they swear or
affirm that truthful answers will be given to all questions asked of them
concerning their competency and qualifications to serve as jurors. Then,
questions are asked of the prospective jurors either by the judge or by the
lawyers or both. These questions must be answered frankly and accurately.
the object is to determine whether any prospective juror is disqualified to sit
on the particular case or should be excused from participating in the trial.
There arc many reasons why a person on the jury panel might not be a fair and
impartial juror. He or she may be closely related to one of, the litigants; have
a business relationship with one of the lawyers or have personal knowledge of
the case to he tried. He or she may show Some leaning, one way or the other,
regarding the type of case being tried. If a juror thinks he or she may be
disqualified for reasons not brought out by the questions, he or she should rise
in his or her place and tell the judge and lawyers about it.
Lawyers are within their rights in asking, questions to test a juror's state of
mind. If a juror's qualifications are challenged by a lawyer. or if he or she is
excused by the judge, the challenge must not he taken as a reflection on the
juror's integrity or intelligence. No juror who is excused by counsel should
feel that such action was done on any personal basis. The law permits counsel
for each party to excuse a certain number of jurors without giving any reason.
However, prospective jurors may not be excused for reasons based upon their
race, gender or nationality. A lawyer may excuse a juror in one case, and then
in a later case may feel that the same juror is acceptable.
After a satisfactory jury is selected, the jurors swear or affirm to try the
case and give a true verdict according to law and evidence.
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