Reply #37: If you are selected for voir dire, just make sure that you speak up and are opinionated. [View All]

[MilesColtrane]

Both sides are looking for jurors who are meek, pliable, and easily manipulated.

You can get a sense of what the case may be about, and you can, without lying, tell the lawyers something that will usually get you out of actually being seated.

Example: I could tell that the defendant was either facing a DUI or a drug possession charge.

The prosecutor questioned us about how much credibility we would ascribe to an arresting officer's field observations. I made sure to say that I wouldn't necessarily give an officer's testimony any more weight than any other witness.

He also asked our opinions on drug laws. I answered that I thought marijuana should be legal, and that other drugs should be decriminalized.

In total it was about a 5 hour day, but in the end, I wasn't selected, and didn't have to go back.