At Munro Byrd, P.C., we regularly represent people who suffered personal injuries in the Roanoke Valley and Western Virginia. While much of the important work is done before trial in the discovery process, one of the most important moments in a case occurs the first day of trial, when selecting the jury. The jurors are seven strangers, but they must agree unanimously for the plaintiff to win. As a result, their personalities, opinions, and priorities are all important factors in how they evaluate evidence and make a decision. What follows is a brief overview of the rules governing jury selection and the questions you can ask potential jurors.
First, Virginia law preserves the right of trial by jury for civil cases. See Va. Code Sec. 8.01-336. Indeed, the Virginia Constitution provides: “That in controversies respecting property, and in suits between man and man, trial by jury is preferable to any other, and ought to be held sacred. The General Assembly may limit the number of jurors for civil cases in courts of record to not less than five.”
A party must demand a jury trial; failure to do so can waive the right. In most of our personal injury cases, the final jury will consist of seven members. Va. Code Sec. 8.01-359. A “venire” of potential jurors–the group summoned to the courthouse for jury duty–may be 40 or 50. From these, the court usually calls (by random draw) a panel of 14-16 potential jurors.
To select the final seven, the parties’ counsel (beginning with the plaintiff’s lawyer) begin “voir dire.” This is a Latin term that means “to speak the truth.” This is where a skillful trial attorney for the plaintiff or the defense attempts to learn about how the juror may assess the important points of the case—but in the typical Virginia civil case, judges tend to limit the scope and duration of the questioning.
Essentially, the attorneys attempt to question the panel (or individual members) about any potential relationship to either party, whether the potential juror “has any interest in the cause, or has expressed or formed any opinion, or is sensible of any bias or prejudice” in regard to the matter. Va. Code Sec. 8.01-358.
Generally, attorneys have latitude to ask questions targeting potential bias the juror may have about matters relevant to the case. Some questions are standard in personal injury cases. For example, typical inquiries to the panel may include questions whether anyone: knows a party or witness in the case; has made a prior claim for injuries; is familiar with the type of injuries suffered by the plaintiff or the treatment (such as broken bones, surgery, back injuries, chiropractic care and the like); has connections to law firms, health entities, or insurance companies; and has opinions about lawsuits in general or particular aspects such as quantifying damages for pain and suffering.
While courts will limit questions regarding insurance to avoid the suggestion that insurance will pay a verdict in the case, the matter may become relevant if it relates to the bias of a juror. As the Virginia Supreme Court previously explained:
It is fundamental that the parties to an action for personal injuries or death are entitled to an impartial jury. The purpose of the voir dire examination provided for … is to ascertain whether any juror has an interest in the case, or any bias or prejudice in relation to it. …The examination should not be so limited as to impede the solicitation of information in deciding whether a juror is impartial. On the other hand, the questions asked can convey to the panel certain information that would prevent them from being impartial and may act as a sword rather than a shield. Thus the voir dire examination must be conducted with great care if its goal of obtaining impartial jurors is to be realized. Hope Windows, Inc., v. Snyder, 208 Va. 489, 491-92 (1968).
So, while the scope of voir dire is not unlimited, courts are supposed to permit questions which are designed to determine if a juror is biased, prejudiced or otherwise has an interest in the case. However, Virginia judges will frequently advise counsel to curtail questions that, while they may be useful in predicting opinions; get too personal as to a particular juror; involve political or religious opinions; or otherwise touch on sensitive subjects, are too suggestive of one party’s evidence or arguments before the case has begun, or are too indirectly related to bias in the court’s opinion.
A skilled trial lawyer should also utilize voir dire as an opportunity to build rapport or initial trust with a jury. When the jurors recognize that the lawyer respects them, cares about the fact that they are sacrificing their work and personal time to be there, and have an important role to play, they tend to pay more attention going forward. They also may indicate things that the lawyer later wants to stress or avoid during the trial, about which he otherwise would not know.
If voir dire exposes an issue on which a juror is not able to be fair and impartial to either party or about an issue in the case, then that juror may be struck by the judge for cause. At the end of voir dire, each side’s lawyer typically gets three more peremptory “strikes” each, meaning that each side can strike three jurors without stating a reason, so that the civil jury is typically winnowed down to seven jurors and one alternate. The lawyers often base these strikes on the responses or attitudes of the jurors during voir dire. As a result, the jury selection process, and particularly voir dire, have a significant outcome on the case.
If you have been injured in a car crash, a truck collision, or from the negligence of a person or business, please contact us to get a firm understanding of your rights! Our firm regularly handles personal injury cases of all kinds, and we are experienced trial lawyers with a track record of successful verdicts and settlements in other cases. We are here to help.
We cannot promise similar results in all cases. We litigate such cases throughout Virginia, including in Roanoke City and County, Montgomery County (Christiansburg, Blacksburg), Lynchburg, Abingdon, Martinsville, Rocky Mount, Wytheville, Bedford, Covington, Harrisonburg, Richmond, Charlottesville, Lexington, or Staunton. We practice in rural areas like Bath County, Campbell County, Giles County, Craig County, Smyth County, Alleghany County, Pulaski County, Franklin County, Campbell County, Carroll County, Patrick County, Floyd County, Stuart County, Pittsylvania County, Henry County, and Wythe County. We also litigate in Virginia federal courts, including those divisions in Roanoke, Abingdon, Danville, Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, Alexandria, and Richmond!