A New Questionnaire, And The Impression It Makes

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Here's a new proposed jury questionnaire for Deliberations's collection, from the upcoming federal corruption trial of former Orange County, California sheriff Mike Corona, his mistress, and his wife.

The questions

You'd think that a case with that cast of characters might have few stipulations, but it looks like the defense is submitting questions jointly, and even the government agrees to some of them. The proposed questions touch on infidelity, profanity, boat ownership, business gifts, and the racial controversy raised by Hurricane Katrina, among many other topics. There's a remarkable list of almost eighty agree-or-disagree questions probing jurors' attitudes. Many judges wouldn't put in a questionnaire, but they make a great voir dire checklist.

The impression

Even better, this questionnaire comes with its own newspaper article. When a newspaper features a jury questionnaire, the result is not only entertaining (this one is a lot of fun) but informative for trial lawyers. The reporter is doing what your jurors will be doing: trying to figure out why on earth you're asking these questions, and making judgments about you based on the questions you've asked. If a reporter says your questionnaire "seems like a survey on 'Cinemax After Dark,'" some juror may be saying that too.