For some unknown reason, and much to his chagrin (I imagine), my dad is one of those poor, unfortunate souls who seems to receive a jury summons on a semi-regular basis. And being civic-minded, he responds and goes to the courthouse and sits on a jury panel each time. He has sat through as many voir dire sessions as anyone I can think of. Most recently, he sat through the voir dire of a federal criminal prosecution, but was ultimately struck through the jury. So I thought it appropriate to conclude this series with the perspective of someone on the...
As a reminder of the purpose of this exercise, I have interviewed several lawyers with the same 8 questions about their theories and methods in approaching the most effective ways to voir dire a jury. Part 1 addresses goals, tactics, and effectiveness of a voir dire. This is Part 2, dealing with voir dire mistakes, methods, and advice. Part 3 is a non-lawyer’s perspective from a jury panel. I have agreed to keep the identities of each of these litigators anonymous, but I still want to introduce you to the lawyers by way of their general practice type and jurisdiction: L1 has...
Voir dire is the process of taking a panel of prospective jurors to determine which are most fit to hear and decide your case. In my five years of litigation practice, I have seen that voir dire appears to be the most uncertain and widely variable aspect of a trial. When it’s good, an engaging lawyer sets herself up for a good rapport with the jury. But when it’s bad, the jury is bored, the judge is bored, and opposing counsel is smirking wickedly while chomping at the bit to make a more favorable impression on the potential jurors. I have...
Throughout most of human existence, storytellers were the gatekeepers of history. But as the written word has evolved, the art of oral storytelling has become less practiced and less important but, when done well, no less effective. For years Steve Heninger has been widely recognized as one of the preeminent trial lawyers in Alabama. Part of what helps him stand out is his method of weaving storytelling into the fabric of his cases. I have both heard Mr. Heninger speak on the topic of storytelling, and read his recent article, “License to Tell,” in the September 2016 edition of The Alabama...
