Question

Write a summary of this paragraph, in your own words.

Jury Selection

Before a jury trial commences, a panel of jurors must be selected. Although some types of trials require twelve-person juries, most civil matters can be heard by six-person juries. The jury selection process is known as voir dire.Footnote In most jurisdictions, attorneys for the plaintiff and the defendant ask prospective jurors oral questions to determine whether they are biased or have any connection with a party to the action or with a prospective witness. In some jurisdictions, the judge may do all or part of the questioning based on written questions submitted by counsel for the parties. During voir dire, a party may challenge a certain number of prospective jurors peremptorily—that is, ask that an individual not be sworn in as a juror without providing any reason. Alternatively, a party may challenge a prospective juror for cause—that is, provide a reason why an individual should not be sworn in as a juror. If the judge grants the challenge, the individual is asked to step down. A prospective juror, however, may not be excluded by the use of discriminatory challenges, such as those based on racial criteria or gender. See Concept Summary 3.1 for a review of pretrial procedures. Concept Summary 3.1 Pretrial Procedures The Pleadings The Pleadings The plaintiff’s complaint—The plaintiff’s statement of the cause of action and the parties involved, filed with the court by the plaintiff’s attorney. After the filing, the defendant is notified of the suit through service of process. The defendant’s response—The defendant’s response to the plaintiff’s complaint may take the form of an answer, in which the defendant admits or denies the plaintiff’s allegations. The defendant may also raise an affirmative defense and/or assert a counterclaim. Pretrial Motions Motion to dismiss—See Exhibit 3–4. Motion for judgment on the pleadings—May be made by either party and will be granted only if no facts are in dispute and only questions of law are at issue. Motion for summary judgment—See Exhibit 3–4. Discovery The process of gathering evidence concerning the case, which may involve the following: Depositions (sworn testimony by either party or any witness). Interrogatories (in which parties to the action write answers to questions with the aid of their attorneys). Requests for admissions, documents, examinations, or other information relating to the case. Requests for electronically recorded information, such as e-mail, text messages, voice mail, and other data. Pretrial Conference A pretrial hearing, at the request of either party or the court, to identify the matters in dispute after discovery has taken place and to explore the possibility of settling the dispute without a trial. If no settlement is possible, the parties plan the course of the trial. Jury Selection Jury Selection In a jury trial, the selection of members of the jury from a pool of prospective jurors. During a process known as voir dire, the attorneys for both sides may challenge prospective jurors either for cause or peremptorily (for no cause).

Answer 1

Summary

Voir dire, the jury selection process, must be completed before the beginning of a jury trial. A panel of six or twelve jurors is selected, depending upon gravity of the case. Attorneys for the plaintiff and the defendant question the prospective jurors to test for any bias, or whether they are connected to a party to the action or witnesses. In some jurisdictions, the judge does this questioning on the basis of written questions provided by the attornies. Both parties can peremptorily (without providing any reason) challenge a certain number of prospective jurors. In other cases, the parties can challenge the selection of a juror by giving some reasons. If the judge agrees with the reasons, the prospective juror will be released. The selection of a juror cannot, however, be challenged on discriminatory grounds such as gender or race.

The Pleadings—The plaintiff’s complaint filed with the court thrugh counsel contains the cause of action and parties involved. After the filing of the plaint, a notice of the suit is served on the defendant. The defendant’s response— In his response, the defendant may, in an answer form, admit or deny the plaintiff’s allegations. Motion to dismiss— If the facts are not in dispute and only questions of law are to be decided on, anyone of the parties can make a motion for judgment on the pleadings. Discovery— Evidence is gathered at this stage through Depositions (sworn testimony by the parties or witnesses) and Interrogatories (written answers to questionsn asked by parties to the action from each other through their attorneys), Requests can be made for admissions, documents, examinations, or other information relating to the case such as electronical data, e-mail, text messages, voice mail, etc. A pretrial hearing can be held at the request of either party to identify the disputed matters and to see if the dispute can be settled without a trial. The trial starts if dispute remains unsettled. Jury Selection— A pool of prospective jurors is used to select the members of the jury in a jury trial. During selection process, called voir dire, the attorneys for both sides can challenge a prospective juror with or without cause.

(Summary ends)

An Important Note for the student: This paragraph pertains to the stages in a trial. If the purpose of the summarization is to present these stages in a sequential order, the first paragraph can be suffixed after the subsection heading 'Jury Selection' to avoid an obvious repitition (from A pool of... to ...without cause) which can then be removed. If this is not the purpose of the summarization, then the summary can be used as is given above.