Due to the importance of jurors in your personal injury case, your attorney will likely discuss the process of voir dire. This process involves your lawyer asking a series of questions to potential jurors in order to get to know them and their values better. Your attorney can also explain what factors commonly influence jurors.
Intentional Conduct and Accountability
Jurors are particularly interested in knowing if the defendant’s conduct was intentional. Additionally, your attorney can explain that jurors will want to know how at fault the defendant was. At the same time, jurors want to see that the plaintiff does accept responsibility for his or her own actions that led to the accident. Jurors may provide larger awards to plaintiffs when the defendant is more culpable. This factor is particularly important because jurors begin to form their own opinion about how an accident occurred once they begin receiving evidence.
Existing Beliefs
Jurors are commonly told that they do not need to leave their common sense at the door. Additionally, the judge or the plaintiff’s attorney may state that the jurors are allowed to have their own beliefs and life experiences that can help them discern the truth. However, if a juror has a strong opinion about not awarding large damages to a plaintiff, it may be difficult for a lawyer to convince this type of juror to let go of this belief. For these reasons, it is important for plaintiffs’ attorneys to find out this information at the beginning of the process so that the deliberations will not be negatively affected by them.
Worthiness of the Plaintiff
Many members of our society believe that the United States is too litigious. Similarly, jurors may assess whether the plaintiff is worthy of receiving any kind of substantial award. Even the plaintiff’s attorney may be evaluated in this assessment. The plaintiff’s attorney may be able to extract this information during the voir dire process in order to determine whether any jurors may harbor resentment or a lack of respect for the plaintiff in general.
For help with your case, call the Modesto personal injury lawyers at Rancaño & Rancaño, APLC at (916) 884-6554.