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Make the most of your jury questionnaire: a good questionnaire can reveal valuable information about potential jurors and help you choose a favorable panel.

Article Excerpt
Jury questionnaires are all indispensable part of the jury selection process. They should be used in every jury trial. Unfortunately, questionnaires have fallen out of favor with some judges who've seen them misused and abused. The primary complaint we hear from judges is that attorneys don't read the questionnaires thoroughly--and then spend voir dire time re-asking questions the panel members have already answered.

Attorneys can easily solve this problem by learning how to better read and interpret potential jurors' answers. Jury questionnaires are an important tool because they allow you to get a great deal of valuable information about each panel member in a short time.

How much time you have to review your jury questionnaires will determine how extensively you can analyze them. In most cases, you'll have only a few hours to read a stack of questionnaires and analyze the panel members' answers. Prioritize your voir dire goals so you can focus on the most important factors. For example, if you are more concerned about seating a jury that will find the defendant liable than one that will award high damages, focus your analysis accordingly.

Because of time constraints, don't create a questionnaire that is so long you won't have time to read each juror's answers thoroughly. In most cases, a one-page questionnaire is appropriate. You can glean a surprising amount of valuable information from this format--if you know what to look for.

On the most basic level, you'll look at the content of the answers. But if time permits, you should look beyond this to how jurors answer the questions. For example, you may note that a panel member uses all capital letters and exclamation points in answering certain questions. Pay attention to which questions the juror seems to feel this strongly about, and think about whether his or her feelings on that issue would benefit or hurt your client.

If time permits, look for less obvious elements, such as themes that develop in a panel member's answers. For instance, one juror might repeatedly refer to the importance of family, express strong family values, and list family-centered hobbies. This information can be useful in several ways. Such a juror might be especially sympathetic toward a plaintiff in a loss-of-companionship claim. Or you might be able to help that juror bond with your client by having your client talk about how important family values are to him or her.

Because jury questionnaires are useful on so many levels, knowing how to carefully analyze a standard, one-page questionnaire will help you get the most out of potential jurors' answers. A sample questionnaire that we used in a personal injury case appears on page 79. We asked potential jurors questions in the following areas.

How old are you? The juror's age tells you what generation he or she belongs to, which may indicate a general belief system. For example, Generation Y jurors--those who are in their mid-20s and younger--tend to be holistic. They are often more sympathetic to others' problems and may be good plaintiff jurors. Panel members from the World War II generation, on the other hand, tend to be more frugal and may...

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