• New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
    • Education
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
    • Music
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Travel
    • Food
  • Sports
  • Science
Thursday, June 30, 2022
  • Login
  • Register
NYC Daily Post
  • New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
    • Education
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
    • Music
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Travel
    • Food
  • Sports
  • Science
No Result
View All Result
  • New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
    • Education
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
    • Music
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Travel
    • Food
  • Sports
  • Science
No Result
View All Result
NYC Daily Post
No Result
View All Result
Home U.S.

What Are the Questions for Potential Jurors in the Derek Chauvin Trial?

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 7, 2021
in U.S.
Reading Time: 5min read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


The call to jury duty for the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white former police officer accused of murdering George Floyd, a Black man, came with 14 pages of questions about race, policing, martial arts and podcasts.

Typically, such questionnaires include submissions from both the prosecution and the defense, with the final selections made by the judge. The court has not disclosed how many questionnaires were sent out or returned, nor is it clear whether the submitted answers will ever become public. But lawyers will use these as a starting point when they begin questioning potential jurors.

What do you know about this case from media reports?

The goal is not to find someone who has never heard of George Floyd — anyone who makes that claim may be seen as incompetent or even dishonest. Still, lawyers will be trying to flag people who have been paying really close attention and may have already made up their minds on the case.

What podcasts do you regularly listen to?

The lawyers will be looking for ideological markers, and podcasts offer an almost infinite range of viewpoints from mainstream to niche. Generally speaking, the defense will be looking for political conservatives with pro-law-enforcement views.

Have you ever been restrained or put in a chokehold, for example, by law enforcement or during a self-defense class? ◻ Yes ◻ No If Yes, please explain:

This question gets at a tricky part of jury selection — do you want someone with a particular experience related to the case, or not? Sometimes it can be beneficial, but other times the juror may become overly focused on his or her own past.

The section above is crucial for both sides. The defense will be looking for people favorable to law enforcement, while the prosecution wants jurors who can be critical of the justice system. Strong views are likely to result in disqualification.

One concern is that this section, along with another section that asks whether jurors believe the criminal justice system is fair, could be used to eliminate jurors of color who express agreement with statements that are objectively true, for example, the Minneapolis police are more likely to use force against Black suspects than against white ones — at seven times the rate.

11. Do you have any martial arts training or experience?

Most likely, this is a question from the defense. That side will be looking for anyone with knowledge of restraint techniques and an understanding that using them can be safe and nonlethal.

There is one big rule in jury selection: Find out as much as you can about every candidate. There’s no single litmus test or demographic profile for who makes a good juror. Lawyers have to try to round out their portraits of each person, and will often be balancing plusses and minuses.

5. What city do you live in and how long have you lived there?

This question seems aimed at determining whether a potential juror has any personal experience with the unrest over the summer — whether, for instance, businesses in his or her community were damaged or looted.

The above section is another variation of the experience question. Doctors, police officers, forensic scientists — they may be better equipped to understand technical evidence, or they may substitute their own judgment for that of the expert witnesses giving testimony. It is unclear whether the lawyers want experts on the jury in this case.

Struggle with Drug Addiction?

This question underscores the role that drugs are likely to play in the case. We already know Mr. Floyd had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system, and Mr. Chauvin’s defense is likely to argue that Mr. Floyd died of a drug overdose. Therefore, the defense will probably pay special attention to this question, and perhaps seek to strike any juror who admits to having struggled with drugs.

14. Would any of the experiences you noted above make it difficult for you to be fair and impartial? If so, why?

The jury system depends almost entirely on the honesty of potential jurors. But often, all jurors have to do to satisfy the judge is to say that they can be impartial. If lawyers don’t believe them but cannot convince a judge to strike them for cause, they can still use one of their peremptory strikes — the prosecution has 9, the defense has 15.

3. Under our system of justice, defendants are presumed innocent of the criminal charges against them. Would you have any difficulty following this principle of law?

Conversely, jurors who don’t want to serve have an easy out: They can simply say they don’t agree with the fundamental principles of the system, or that they don’t think they can be fair.

11. Do you want to serve as a juror in this case? ◻ Yes ◻ No ◻ Not Sure

12. Why do you feel that way about serving as a juror in this case?

This is a trick question. Anyone who answers “yes” will be suspected of having an agenda, especially if the reason involves justice, race, policing or basically anything other than simply “I’ve always wanted to serve on a jury.”

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff

The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff

Related Posts

Louisiana program helps transition young adults out of foster care and into adulthood

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 26, 2022
0

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST: Every year, tens of thousands of teenagers will leave foster care and venture out on their...

Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse workers will vote on forming a union

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 25, 2022
0

Amazon workers begin voting Friday on whether to form a union at a company warehouse on Staten Island in...

The U.S. will welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 24, 2022
0

NPR's Juana Summers speaks with Krish O'mara Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, about the efforts to...

Alex Jones skipped his Sandy Hook deposition again

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 24, 2022
0

Infowars host Alex Jones again failed to appear for a court-ordered deposition. Jones is accused of defamation by the...

Biden lays out 3 main goals after meeting with leaders about Ukraine

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 24, 2022
0

President Biden spoke to reporters after wrapping up meetings with NATO and G-7 leaders about Russia's invasion of Ukraine....

Some Republican senators may have grilled Judge Jackson as part of a larger campaign

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 24, 2022
0

Some of the most contentious moments in this week's Supreme Court confirmation hearings came during questions from Republican senators...

Next Post

Live Updates: The Harry and Meghan interview with Oprah

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Recommended

Intruder sets fire in Manhattan bar before fleeing: video

12 months ago

Cubs vs. Indians odds, prediction: Adbert Alzolay will lift Chicago

1 year ago

Popular News

  • History teacher on OnlyFans: How my ex exposed my ‘dirty little secret’

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Abused girl found dead in NYC apartment still in morgue a month later

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Con artist’ Instagram model sued by her millionaire ex for ‘secretly posing nude in his mansion for OnlyFans’

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Democrats Face Historical Midterm Challenges

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Porn star Emily Willis sues competitors over alleged dog-sex tweets

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get the latest news from the US and around the world in your inbox.
SUBSCRIBE

Category

  • Business
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Music
  • New York
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Travel
  • U.S.
  • World

Site Links

  • Home
  • Meet our leadership
  • Newsletter
  • Submit an Article

The New York City Daily Post

Welcome to the world’s premier daily news platform. We bring you the latest news from the US and around the world right at your fingertips.

  • New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Science

© 2021. The NYC Daily Post. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
    • Education
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
    • Music
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Travel
    • Food
  • Sports
  • Science

© 2021. The NYC Daily Post. All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
%d bloggers like this: