The Meaning Of The Word “Voire Dire”
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The literal meaning of the word voire dire is to “speak the truth.” This is the essence of the what is trying to be accomplished in the voire dire process during a jury trial. Voire dire is only conducted as a part of jury trials as it is not necessary during a trial before a judge.
The Voire Dire Phase Of Trial
The voire dire phase of trial starts with the shuffling and seating of the jury. Members of the community are called to served by mail. Once they make an appearance in response to that request, they are randomly assigned seating in the court where the trial is to be conducted. In some courts they may be required to fill out a brief questionnaire to help assist the attorneys that will be asking them questions.
After the jury is seated, the judge will then outline basic requirements that each jury member must meet to be considered eligible to serve on the jury. For example, you must be a resident of the city of the court where you are serving as a jury member. Once all of the basic requirements are met, then the remaining members of the jury pool are asked questions by both the defense and the prosecution.
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The purpose of these questions is to get truthful answers to see which of the members are the absolute “best” to serve on the panel. What makes a jury member the “best?” This is the ability to be unbiased or prejudiced regarding certain facts or issues related to a case. As an innocent example, if you have a strong affinity towards chocolate ice cream and the trial involved which flavor was best, then you would have a strong biased towards chocolate that would lead you to be prejudiced against all other flavors.
After both the prosecution and the defense have had an opportunity to ask questions related to a person’s ability to remain fair an impartial, 6 members of the jury pool will eventually be sat to hear the case. Both sides get 3 strikes for any reason other than race, religion or sex. There are unlimited amounts of strikes for reasons related to bias or prejudice.
Why Is Voire Dire Important?
Voire dire is considered by many to be the most important part of the case. If you have a jury member on the jury panel that cannot keep an open mind, then you have lost your case before it begins. This is why the true meaning of the word voire dire is key. You have to get a jury panel to speak the truth about their feelings on issues to understand if they can be impartial or not. It is a true art of trial.
