SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
So you’ve already filled out a questionnaire and you've been asked to go to the courthouse. Next, you're brought into the courtroom. At this point, you wait your turn to get called in by the judge and they explain the case to you, how long the trial will take and introduce you to the lawyers.
Next it’s the lawyers’ turn. Using the questionnaire you already filled out, they’ll ask you questions to determine if you should actually serve on their jury.
They do a process called “voir dire” which in English means "to see, to speak." The lawyers will ask you questions and based on your responses and how you act, they’ll determine if you should serve.
The plaintiff side, aka the one who’s accusing the defendant, will likely try to weed out the jurors who would be sympathetic to the defendant. The defendant side will try to do the opposite and look for that type of person.
Now, both lawyers can say no to any juror if they have a legal reason. They have unlimited challenges like that, but if they want to dismiss someone for no reason, there is a limit to those. They’ll both keep questioning people until the jury is complete.
If you don’t get picked, don’t take it personally. You just didn’t benefit the lawyers. Does this process make a little more sense now?
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