Deck 9: Jury Selection and Trial Procedure

Question 1

Iris works as a trial consultant. When helping the attorney during voir dire, she is likely to use _____ analysis to gather additional information about the potential jurors.

A) precipitation
B) regression
C) social media
D) civil rights

Answer 1

social media

Question 2

Studies testing the effectiveness of judge's instructions to the jury to disregard pretrial publicity have found:

A) no effect of such instructions on jurors' decision making in passing a guilty verdict.
B) that jurors were able to mostly ignore the media accounts they had been exposed to.
C) jurors to be able to disregard pretrial publicity in civil cases only.
D) jurors to be able to disregard pretrial publicity in murder cases only.

Answer 2

no effect of such instructions on jurors' decision making in passing a guilty verdict.

Question 3

Voir dire allows attorneys:

A) to question the veracity of a witness's testimony in criminal cases.
B) and judges to question potential jurors to determine their acceptability to serve on a jury.
C) to subpoena important witnesses who may not otherwise be willing to appear in court.
D) and judges to question witnesses on the stand in civil cases.

Answer 3

and judges to question potential jurors to determine their acceptability to serve on a jury.

Question 4

Comparing two high-profile cases that used scientific jury selection, the "Harrisburg Seven" in Pennsylvania in 1972 and the O. J. Simpson trial in 1995, most people who know the cases would say that:

A) both cases demonstrate the importance of scientific jury selection.
B) both cases show a failure of scientific jury selection.
C) scientific jury selection failed in one case and triumphed in the other.
D) neither case is a good example of scientific jury selection.

Question 5

The text mentions several broad personality tendencies somewhat associated with jury verdicts. Which of the following characteristics is NOT such a tendency?

A) Locus of control
B) Extraversion
C) Authoritarianism
D) Belief in a just world

Question 6

Venire refers to a(n):

A) group of inmates who are requesting a trial by jury.
B) group of prospective jurors who came to court.
C) attorney who is conducting voir dire.
D) judge who presides over a jury trial.

Question 7

In civil cases, the standard of proof for being held liable is _____, while in criminal cases, it is _____.

A) beyond a reasonable doubt; clear and convincing evidence
B) clear and convincing evidence; preponderance of the evidence
C) preponderance of the evidence; beyond a reasonable doubt
D) reasonable person standard; clear and convincing evidence

Question 8

An attorney may use a peremptory challenge to:

A) dismiss a potential juror because of a possible bias explained to the court.
B) dismiss a potential juror without giving a reason.
C) request a change of venue or a retrial.
D) declare a piece of evidence to be inadmissible at trial.

Question 9

According to the text, which one of the following statements about jury selection is INCORRECT?

A) Different jurors exposed to the same evidence might interpret it differently and come to opposite conclusions.
B) If evidence alone decided the disposition of the case, jury selection would not be important.
C) There are strong correlations between jurors' sociodemographic characteristics and their verdicts.
D) Trial consultants use social scientific methods to help attorneys with jury selection.

Question 10

In Batson v. Kentucky (1986) and J. E. B. v. Ala. Ex rel (1994), the Supreme Court ruled that potential jurors cannot be excluded because of their _____, which constitute characteristics of _____ groups.

A) race and gender; cognizable
B) race and gender; shareable
C) ethnicity and persuasion; cognizable
D) ethnicity and persuasion; shareable

Question 11

A juror that scores high on measures of authoritarianism would be least likely to convict a:

A) gang member accused of killing another gang member.
B) police officer accused of using excessive force.
C) college student accused of stealing.
D) nanny accused of shaking a baby to death.

Question 12

Compensatory damages are meant to:

A) compensate the defendant for losses.
B) compensate the plaintiff for losses.
C) punish the defendant for irresponsible or malicious conduct.
D) punish the plaintiff for irresponsible or malicious conduct.

Question 13

As opposed to early juries at the dawn of the United States, modern-day juries consist of people who:

A) have a first-hand experience with the criminal justice system.
B) do not have a prior knowledge of the defendant.
C) have not served in the armed forces.
D) were born in the United States.

Question 14

The last opportunity for questioning a witness is given to the _____ attorney during _____ examination.

A) prosecuting; cross
B) prosecuting; recross
C) defense; cross
D) defense; recross

Question 15

Just like early juries, modern juries are intended to be _____; unlike early juries, modern juries are intended to be _____.

A) impartial; equal
B) equal; representative
C) representative; impartial
D) impartial; exclusive

Question 16

According to the text, all of the following shrink the size of the jury pool, EXCEPT:

A) no-shows.
B) exemptions.
C) exclusions.
D) summons.

Question 17

It is often argued that picking a _____ is one of the most consequential steps in the trial process.

A) defendant
B) trial location
C) judge
D) jury

Question 18

The fundamental idea behind challenges for cause is that:

A) some jurors may not be able to render an impartial verdict based only on evidence and law.
B) some judges cannot be trusted to conduct jury selection because they may be biased.
C) jurors should be allowed to challenge witnesses' statements to determine their truthfulness.
D) judges should not be allowed to question potential jurors because they may taint the jury pool.

Question 19

The Sixth and Seventh Amendments guarantee the right to a trial by jury in criminal and civil cases, respectively. The jury is supposed to be:

A) an impartial group representing community values.
B) a group of defendant's neighbors and acquaintances.
C) an unbiased group of people familiar with the defendant's reputation.
D) a group of people representing different parts of the country.

Question 20

What is usually called jury _____ is actually a process of _____.

A) desensitization; appreciation of differences
B) selection; eliminating candidates from the jury pool
C) sensitization; social scientific research
D) stereotyping; explaining the trial procedure

Question 21

The size of venire depends on all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) the trial location.
B) rulings of the presiding judge.
C) whether the defendant is indigent.
D) how much media attention the case received.

Question 22

A judge _____ accept(s) the challenges put forth by attorneys regarding jury selection.

A) never
B) sometimes
C) always
D) is obligated to

Question 23

A challenge for cause _____, whereas a peremptory challenge _____.

A) is based on possible biasing factors; allows lawyers to dismiss a person with no reason given
B) does not need to be explained; is based on the possibility of prejudice
C) is based on possible biasing factors; is not based on the possibility of prejudice
D) requires the judge to agree; does not require the judge's approval

Question 24

An additional source of jurors in many states can be all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) a list of licensed drivers.
B) tax rolls.
C) a list of people receiving food stamps.
D) employers' payroll lists.

Question 25

The lists used by jury commissioners to summon people for jury duty often underrepresent all of the following categories of people, EXCEPT:

A) minorities.
B) poor people.
C) elderly people.
D) people who recently turned 18.

Question 26

If a potential juror is asked to be removed without explanations as to why he or she is unlikely to be able to deliver an impartial verdict, this type of removal is referred to as a:

A) peremptory challenge.
B) challenge for bias.
C) challenge for cause.
D) predisposition challenge.

Question 27

Lawyers have two types of challenges they can use to remove a potential juror: challenges for cause and:

A) challenges for bias.
B) challenges for prejudice.
C) peremptory challenges.
D) predisposition challenges.

Question 28

John was summoned for jury duty. He came to court and asked to be excused because he had to take care of his elderly and frail mother living with him and requiring near-constant supervision. According to the text, what he used is called the ____ plea.

A) "elderly caregiver exclusion"
B) exoneration clause
C) "undue hardship or extreme inconvenience"
D) automatic exemption

Question 29

According to the text, when an attorney takes the opportunity to remove a potential juror, it is referred to as a:

A) challenge.
B) venire.
C) obstacle to equality.
D) recross.

Question 30

Law does not set a limit to the number of _____ though they have to be approved by the judge, and judges have _____.

A) peremptory challenges; to state their reasons for rejection
B) peremptory challenges; to state their bias
C) challenges for cause; limited patience
D) challenges for cause; unlimited patience

Question 31

Many factors impact the size of venire but it typically ranges from _____ people.

A) 0 to 12
B) a few dozen to over a hundred
C) several hundred to a thousand
D) The size of venire does not vary, it is always the same.

Question 32

According to the Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968, the voter registration lists are the _____ source of eligible jurors.

A) primary
B) secondary
C) tertiary
D) only

Question 33

To make jury service less burdensome, the one day or one trial system is used in many areas. It means that:

A) every trial lasts one day.
B) jurors are picked for each day of the trial separately.
C) jurors selected for jury duty participate in as many trials as can be held in one day.
D) for jurors who are selected, the jury duty will be over after the trial ends, and for the dismissed jurors, the jury duty is over.

Question 34

_____ attorneys get more peremptory challenges because _____ at the trial.

A) Prosecuting; they take precedence
B) Prosecuting; these require the judge's approval
C) Defense; their clients have more to lose
D) Defense; they do not get to take the stand either first or last

Question 35

The one day or one trial system is used to:

A) increase guilty pleas.
B) reduce the time defendants spend in jail.
C) turn criminal into civil cases.
D) reduce the number of hardship exemptions.

Question 36

The group of prospective jurors is referred to as _____, and the process of questioning these people to determine who among them will serve on the jury is called _____.

A) venire; voir dire
B) voir dire; venire
C) venue; shadowing
D) a shadow jury; inquiring

Question 37

According to the text, most trials:

A) are cancelled after the jury is already selected.
B) are over in one day.
C) last about a week.
D) go on for months.

Question 38

Jeremy has worked in a prison for 15 years and has been called to jury duty. He is to serve on a criminal case involving the shooting of a guard during a prison riot. Based on the definition of a challenge for cause, Jeremy would be a(n):

A) unbiased jury member.
B) expert witness.
C) likely juror.
D) unlikely juror.

Question 39

Voir dire is all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) the final stage in the jury selection process.
B) a sort of pretrial interview held in open court.
C) a way to exclude attorneys from influencing the trial outcomes.
D) an opportunity for attorneys and the judge to question potential jurors.

Question 40

Automatic exemptions for such things as not understanding English well or being a police officer:

A) have been recently abolished.
B) are being reduced in recent years.
C) require financial compensation to the potential juror.
D) are called voir dire.

Question 41

In theory, the number of challenges for cause is _____, while peremptory challenges _____.

A) limited; increase over time
B) limited; are at the discretion of the judge
C) unlimited; increase over time
D) unlimited; are capped at a small number

Question 42

It would appear as though there are certain personality traits or tendencies that have some bearing on jury verdicts. However, these traits only play a role in the jury decision if the:

A) majority of jurors on the panel possess such characteristics.
B) jury consultants prepare the jurors for the trial correctly.
C) evidence presented by the prosecution is weak or ambiguous.
D) trial lasts longer than a few days.

Question 43

Nicole is a defense attorney handling a high-profile case. Much rests with the decision of the jury in terms of damages that the defendant may be required to pay. To help in the process, Nicole decides to pull together a group that matches the demographics of the actual jury and have them sit in the courtroom during trial and be exposed to the same evidence the actual jury would be seeing. The group Nicole is assembling is known as a:

A) mock jury.
B) trial jury.
C) potential jury.
D) shadow jury.

Question 44

April displays conventional values, with relatively inflexible viewpoints, generally identifying with authority figures and finding weakness to be intolerable. One might consider her personality to be indicative of _____, which is one of the jurors' characteristics associated with _____ verdicts.

A) locus of control; harsher
B) belief in a just world; more lenient
C) authoritarianism; more lenient
D) authoritarianism; harsher

Question 45

Research studies cited in the text show that trial consultants on average _____ affect the outcome of the trial, whereas some especially experienced lawyers _____.

A) do not; substantially tilt the odds of winning the trial
B) do not; convince the judge to dismiss the jury
C) significantly; substantially tilt the odds of winning the trial
D) significantly; convince the judge to dismiss the jury

Question 46

If juries systematically exclude _____, the legal system _____.

A) cognizable groups; would perform better
B) cognizable groups; loses its legitimacy
C) peremptory challenges; would perform better
D) peremptory challenges; loses its legitimacy

Question 47

The biggest, most important benefit of having a shadow jury in place, according to the text, is that, because the shadow jurors would actually hear the same testimony as the actual jury, they can provide:

A) critical feedback that allows attorneys to adjust strategies.
B) details of the trial proceedings.
C) details of the trial jury's deliberation discussions.
D) feedback on their relationships with the defendant.

Question 48

Even though the _____ is the best predictor of what kind of verdict the jury reaches in a case, different jurors evaluate and interpret the same evidence _____.

A) strength of evidence; similarly
B) strength of evidence; differently
C) composition of the jury; similarly
D) composition of the jury; differently

Question 49

In a high-profile case, trial consultants may be hired. Trial consultants use a(n) _____ approach to jury selection.

A) data-driven
B) intuitive
C) logically questionable
D) parapsychological

Question 50

What is the ethical question most pertinent to the use of jury consultants?

A) Does the use of jury consultants make an acquittal more likely?
B) Does the use of jury consultants make a guilty verdict more likely?
C) Do jury consultants make it more likely for a wealthy defendant to win the case?
D) Do jury consultants promote scientifically unproven techniques?

Question 51

Hannah is a trial consultant hired to assemble a shadow jury in a high-stakes trial. She may ask the shadow jury to perform all of the following tasks, EXCEPT:

A) sit in the courtroom during the trial.
B) hear a condensed version of testimonies.
C) watch a videotape of courtroom proceedings.
D) observe actual jurors in the deliberation room.

Question 52

While selecting a jury, it is important for lawyers to figure out which jurors will be _____ favorable to their case. It is legally permissible for the lawyers to _____ to gather additional information.

A) fairly; reach out to potential jurors through Facebook
B) most; post on potential jurors' Facebook profiles
C) least; friend potential jurors on Facebook
D) least; read potential jurors' Facebook profiles

Question 53

A cognizable group refers to potential jurors being:

A) acknowledged as sharing a particular characteristic setting them apart from other jurors.
B) selected based on race even if their racial characteristics are not clearly distinguishable.
C) selected based on race only when their racial characteristics are clearly visible.
D) excluded based on vague explanations accepted by the judge.

Question 54

According to the text, a jury of 12 or fewer is likely to:

A) share all cognizable characteristics.
B) be fully representative of the country's population.
C) not be fully representative of a larger community.
D) be diverse enough to reflect all possible views.

Question 55

With regard to strategies for jury selection, social scientists and lawyers appear to have different approaches, which became especially evident in the O. J. Simpson case. Social scientists rely on _____, whereas lawyers rely on _____.

A) intuition; data collection
B) data collection; intuition
C) experience; intuition
D) intuition; experience

Question 56

Pro bono is legal service:

A) at a reduced price.
B) based on ability to pay.
C) free of charge.
D) provided on a sliding scale.

Question 57

Mock juries benefit trial lawyers when the actual trial and jury selection takes place because:

A) profiles developed through the mock jury studies guide the choices for the real case.
B) they provide a respite for lawyers and take on some of their duties during the trial.
C) mock jurors may be asked to join the actual jury if one of the jurors gets sick.
D) mock juries provide little data on actual jury selection but trial lawyers use them anyway.

Question 58

Among the traits noted as being associated with jurors' verdicts is how people tend to explain what happens to them, or how they answer the question: Do you believe that what happens to you is usually the result of your own behavior? This trait is referred to as:

A) locus of control.
B) belief in a just world.
C) authoritarianism.
D) an alternative hypothesis.

Question 59

The number of _____ is limited. As for _____, they are only limited by the patience of the judge.

A) peremptory challenges; challenges for cause
B) peremptory challenges; prosecutorial challenges
C) challenges for cause; peremptory challenges
D) challenges for cause; prosecutorial challenges

Question 60

Studies show that juror characteristics generally have a _____ impact on the verdict, and thus the idea that picking a jury makes or breaks the case seems _____ as a general rule.

A) strong; understated
B) strong; to be true
C) weak; overstated
D) weak; to be true

Question 61

Explain the voir dire process. What are the two types of challenges? What is the end result of the voir dire process?

Question 62

How effective is scientific jury selection? Give some examples of this process.

Question 63

Negative pretrial publicity makes jurors more likely to see the defendant as _____. When studies assessed if the judge's instructions to disregard the negative publicity make a difference, they found that such instructions _____.

A) guilty; do not remedy the situation
B) guilty; reduce the jurors' bias
C) innocent; do not change the situation
D) innocent; increase the jurors' vigilance

Question 64

The similarity-leniency hypothesis seems to generally apply when _____. In such cases, jurors tend to _____ to those defendants who are like them.

A) evidence is weak or inconclusive; give harsher sentences
B) evidence is weak or inconclusive; give the benefit of the doubt
C) evidence is especially strong; give harsher sentences
D) evidence is especially strong; give the benefit of the doubt

Question 65

In terms of the burden of proof, in criminal cases, the standard of proof for a person to be found guilty is _____, whereas in civil trials, the standard of proof is usually _____.

A) beyond a reasonable doubt; preponderance of the evidence
B) preponderance of the evidence; beyond a reasonable doubt
C) beyond a reasonable doubt; clear and convincing truth
D) clear and convincing truth; preponderance of the evidence

Question 66

The _____ hypothesis predicts that, when the characteristics of jurors and of the defendant are similar enough, it might influence verdicts.

A) decision-suspension
B) similarity-defense
C) similarity-leniency
D) leniency-proneness

Question 67

The vast majority of all criminal cases are resolved through _____, which afford(s) _____ constitutional protections to the defendant.

A) jury trials; no
B) jury trials; strong
C) plea bargaining; no
D) plea bargaining; strong

Question 68

Explain how the role of money in trial consulting may affect trial outcomes. Are there any possible solutions to the problems you have identified?