BENCHBOOK FOR U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGES-2007
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Section 6 - Civil Proceedings

    6.04 Standard Voir Dire Questions-Civil

        6.04.1 Standard Voir Dire Questions-Civil: Outline
        6.04.2 Standard Voir Dire Questions-Civil: Other Sources

BENCHBOOK FOR U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGES-2007

Fed. R. Civ. P. 47(a) provides that the court "may permit the parties or their attorneys to conduct the examination of prospective jurors or may itself conduct the examination." The following outline for an initial in-depth voir dire examination of the entire panel by the court assumes that

1. if there are affirmative responses to any questions, follow-up questions will be addressed to the juror(s) (at sidebar, if such questions concern private or potentially embarrassing matters); and

2. the court and counsel have been furnished with the name, address, age, and occupation of each prospective juror.

If the court conducts the entire examination, it should require counsel to submit proposed voir dire questions before trial to permit the court to incorporate additional questions at the appropriate places in this outline.

A. Have the jury panel sworn.

B. Explain to the jury panel that the purpose of the voir dire examination is

1. to enable the court to determine whether any prospective juror should be excused for cause;

2. to enable counsel for the parties to exercise their individual judgment with respect to peremptory challenges—that is, challenges for which counsel need not give a reason.

C. Indicate that the case is expected to take days to try, and ask if this fact presents a special problem to any member of the panel.

D. Briefly describe the case that is about to be tried.

E. Ask if any member of the panel has heard or read anything about the case.

F. Introduce counsel (or have counsel introduce themselves) and ask if any member of the panel or his or her immediate family knows or has had any business dealings with any of the counsel or their law firms.

G. Introduce the parties (or have counsel introduce parties) and ask if any member of the panel or his or her immediate family

1. is personally acquainted with,

2. is related to,

3. has had business dealings with,

4. is currently or was formerly employed by,

5. has had any other relationship or business connection with, or

6. is a stockholder of any party in the case.

H. Introduce or identify by name, address, and occupation all prospective witnesses (or have counsel do so). Ask if any member of the panel knows any of the prospective witnesses.

I. Ask prospective jurors:

1. Have you ever served as a juror in a criminal or civil case or as a member of a grand jury in either a federal or state court?

2. Have you or has anyone in your immediate family ever participated in a lawsuit as a party or in any other capacity?

3. If you are selected to sit on this case, will you be able to render a verdict solely on the evidence presented at the trial and in the context of the law as I will give it to you in my instructions, disregarding any other ideas, notions, or beliefs about the law that you may have encountered in reaching your verdict?

4. Is there any member of the panel who has any special disability or problem that would make serving as a member of the jury difficult or impossible?

5. [At this point, if the court is conducting the entire examination, ask those questions submitted by counsel that you feel should be propounded. If the questions elicit affirmative responses, ask appropriate follow-up questions.]

6. Having heard the questions put to you by the court, does any other reason suggest itself to you as to why you could not sit on this jury and render a fair verdict based on the evidence presented to you and in the context of the court’s instructions to you on the law?

J. 1. If appropriate, permit counsel to conduct additional direct voir dire examination, subject to such time and subject matter limitations as the court deems proper; or

2. Direct counsel to come to the bench, and consult with them as to whether any additional questions should have been asked or whether any were overlooked.

BENCHBOOK FOR U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGES-2007

Civil Litigation Management Manual 83–84 (Judicial Conference of the United States 2001)

Manual for Complex Litigation, Fourth 151–52 (2004)

Gordon Bermant, Jury Selection Procedures in United States District Courts (1982)

For additional judicial colloquy with the venire, including admonitions and general instructions, see Civil Litigation Management Manual (Judicial Conference of the United States 2001), Sample Form 46, at 379.