Voir Dire is a process that will begin after a selection of potential jury members, also called a
jury list, has been created. This list is concerned with representing the community. It also
requires that the jurors meet certain standards such as being over the age of 18. The voir dire
process begins in order to find the potential jurors that will make up the cases jury panel.
The term voir dire translates to “to see what is said”. This is the section of jury selection that
allows the prosecutors, judge and defense to examine and bring to light any potential bias in
any of the members of the jury list. The goal is to come up with 12 unbiased citizens of the
community to make up the jury panel. This jury panel will most likely not be a good
representation of the community, which is okay.
During voir dire, the potential jurors will be asked several questions, some by the judge and
some by the defense and prosecution. These questions are designed with the intent of finding
any bias that could affect a jurors decision making. There are 3 stages of voir dire:
1. Questioning by the judge
2. Challenges for cause
3. Preemptory challenges
The first stage is not required by law, so it doesn’t have to take place. The second stage,
Challenges for Cause, are the attorneys call for removal of a potential juror based on a bias or
similar reason demonstrated by the juror. There are many scenarios in which this can be used,
one being the example stated in the video. If you had a loved one who died in a drunk driving
incident, and the case in question is a drunk driving case, you have a bias based on previous life
experiences that could cause you to be partial in the case. This can also be used to dismiss
someone who might be related to the defendant or served on a jury for the defendant previous
case if one exists.
The Preemptory Challenge has looser guidelines. A preemptory challenge is an attorneys call to