legal word of the day: VOIR DIRE

legal word of the day: VOIR DIRE

/vwa dear/

POL:

wyłonienie członków ławy przysięgłych

ENG:

jury selection

(1) In the voir dire, a few of you indicated that you were repulsed by the idea of homosexual conduct.

(2) While Federal rules of civil and criminal procedure stipulate that either counsel or the judge may conduct the voir dire, in practice, particularly in criminal cases, it is the judge who conducts it.

(3) Voir dire can last weeks, and can reach into such personal areas as sexual history.

(4) If you don't connect at voir dire it is over. If the jury hates you at voir dire, get the hell out of there.

TO  STIPULATE – stanowić (to specify, to state exactly how something must be or must be done)

Some facts on voir dire:

Voir dire is a process of asking questions of potential jurors to ensure a fair verdict in the case.

It may include general questions (asked of the entire group of prospective jurors) or questions asked of individual jurors.

Attorneys for the parties strike jurors based on a specific valid reason (challenge for cause) or based on their intuition (peremptory challenge) without stating a reason.

Voir dire may be attorney or judge driven, i.e. the questions may be asked by attorneys or by the trial judge.

In America voir dire can become a competition between lawyers trying to bias the prospective panel toward the positions of their clients.

TO STRIKE – odrzucić (to turn down, to reject)

CHALLENGE FOR CAUSE/ STRIKE FOR CAUSE – kwestionowanie bezstronności członka ławy przysięgłych/ wniosek o wyłączenie  ze względu na ważny powód (request that a prospective juror be dismissed because there is a specific and forceful reason to believe the person cannot be fair)

PEREMPTORY CHALLENGE – kwestionowanie bezstronności/ wnioskowanie o wyłączenie członka ławy przysięgłych bez podania przyczyny (a defendant's or lawyer's objection to a proposed juror, made without needing to give a reason)

TO BIAS SOMEBODY TOWARD SOMEONE – nastawić kogoś przychylnie (to cause someone else to be in favour of somebody)