Exam 8: Pretrial Procedures and the Criminal Trial

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oThe main goal of jury selection is toproduce a representative cross-section of the population of that jurisdiction.  In general, potential jurors must be citizens of the United States and must be  over eighteen years of age. They must not have been convicted of a felony.
oThey  must be healthy enough tofunction in a jury setting. other requirements include that they are intelligent enough tounderstand the issues of a trial and be able toread, write, and comprehend English.
oThe jury pool is made up of eligible jurors in the community. From the eligible  jurors, a venire needs tobe established, which is composed of all those notified  that they have been selected for jury duty. They must report tothe courthouse.  Through the process of voir dire , potential jurors are questioned and asked toprovide the court with personal information. Voir dire is the chance for each  lawyer tospeak with individual jurors.oDuring voir dire , attorneys from each side may exercise a number of challenges  toprevent specific people from serving on the jury. There are twotypes of  challenges. These are challenges for cause and peremptory challenges.
oWhen an attorney feels that a potential juror is unfit toserve, the attorney can exercise a challenge for cause and request that the person not be included on the jury. The attorney must provide a sound, legally justifiable reason why this  juror is unfit. Some examples as towhy a juror is unfit toserve are mental  incompetency, he or she does not understand English, and he or she is linked toone of the parties in the case. Challenges for cause are unlimited.
o​ Attorneys may alsouse peremptory challenges. These challenges donot require  any supporting reason or cause. These types of challenges are limited and based  solely on the attorney's subjective reasoning. Each state sets their own limits as  tothe number of peremptory challenges each side may use.