Identifying the Jury’s Leaders is Important
While many attorneys waste their time with jury selection asking about TV programs, bumper stickers, and employment the really smart attorneys will focus their efforts on identifying who the leaders are likely to be on the jury. It is the leaders who will drive the discussion, and while every juror’s opinions have value, the leaders’ opinions are likely to end up being more important. A recent article in The Jury Expert describes two broad categories of jury leaders, the “instrumental leader” and the emotional leader. The instrumental leader is the juror who takes votes, helps organize discussion, and interprets facts. The emotional leader is the juror who may offer compromises and serve as a negotiator between jurors who disagree. Jury selection combines both skill and science. As a Tennessee Accident Attorney who has selected dozens of juries – I have made my share of bad choices, but finding out who the likely leaders are has been a priority for some time. Perhaps the easiest way to identify at least one of the leaders is to find out who on the jury panel has served previously as a juror. If they have, it is almost automatic that they will be appointed the foreperson. If not, they will often be deferred to by other jurors because of their prior experience. Unfortunately, the juror with prior jury service may be the worse person to serve as a foreperson, and may actually make deliberations more difficult and clumsy. Still, if you are an attorney you need to know who all the leaders are or are likely to be.
When jury selection is done correctly, justice is a more likely outcome for everyone involved.
Phillip Miller is a Tennessee Accident Attorney specializing in
Phillip has an AVVO rating of 10.0 (Superb), has been designated as a “Superlawyer”, and is the President Elect of the Tennessee Association for Justice.
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