The Third District Court of Appeal recently approved the use of hypothetical questions by counsel during jury selection provided the questions are “designed to determine whether the jurors could correctly apply the law.” In Moore v. State, 939 So. 2d 1116 (Fla. 3 DCA 2006) the Court approved the use of hypothetical questions designed to explain the difference between testimonial evidence and physical evidence to prospective jurors.

A trial lawyer was prevented from exercising a peremptory strike on an African-American female during voir dire even though the lawyer was getting “bad vibes” from the prospective juror and felt her body language indicated she was not being open and honest in her answers.

In jury selection we always want to know more about prospective jurors than we can sometimes ask. Political correctness, gentlemanly discretion, or sometimes just a plain old having-a-bad-day judge will preclude our ability to find out certain things about people that we would really like to know before we let them decide our client’s fate.

Both sides in a criminal case had questioned prospective jurors for “about an hour.” The trial judge then called the defendant to the bench and asked if he had any new questions, and the defendant said he had “plenty.” The trial judge responded, “No you don’t have plenty of new questions. You see the time? You’ve got about ten minutes.” The judge suggested he use his time wisely. After the defendant […]

It was fifty years ago last month that Marilyn Burch Fagan was found dead by her husband on the walkway of their home near rural Gainesville. Her husband, Osee Fagan, the County Prosecutor, was involved in the prosecution of a deaf mute, Philip Singer. Returning home near midnight from a late night at the office, he found his wife’s body in the darkness of their front yard underneath the bright starlit country skies. His […]