How Does Personal Injury Law Work? An Explanation of the Civil Justice System [Part 4]
Posted by Stephen G. Schwarz, Managing Partner, Faraci LangeThe trial
The first phase of the trial is when the jury is selected. This is referred to as jury selection or sometimes as voir dire. In civil cases in New York this is typically a phase of trial that is conducted by the lawyers under the supervision of a clerk without the trial judge present. During this phase each side’s attorney is permitted to question prospective jurors on their knowledge of the case, parties and witnesses, and also on areas of potential bias for or against a party or a type of lawsuit. Civil juries consist of six jurors as opposed to twelve for a criminal jury. Depending on the length of the trial there will also be one or more alternate jurors chosen in case one of the six primary jurors becomes ill or is otherwise unable to complete the trial. During jury selection each side gets to excuse jurors whose answers to the questions posed provide cause to dismiss them as not likely to be impartial. Each side is also permitted to dismiss any three other potential jurors it chooses without stating any reason why. The dismissal of a juror in this fashion is referred to as a peremptory challenge, while dismissing a juror for cause is referred to as a challenge for cause. More…
