Sarasota, FL, Former Prosecutor Jessie Weissman Discusses the Importance of Voir Dire

As a former prosecutor in Sarasota, FL, Jessie Weissman has extensive experience in the voir dire process and understands why voir dire is important for the prosecution, as well as the defense, during a jury trial.

Effective voir dire identifies prospective jurors who can be fair and impartial, rather than unfair and biased, regarding a particular party or the entire criminal justice system. Even though the desired outcome in a jury trial is different for the prosecution and defense, both sides have similar goals during voir dire and the jury selection process.

Prospective jurors, referred to as the “jury pool,”are brought into the courtroom and given numbers during the voir dire process. Once jurors are seated in the jury pool, the judge will typically give a brief introduction and will allow both sides a specified amount of time to ask the jury general questions. Former Sarasota, FL prosecutor Jessie Weissman explains that attorneys will often ask jurors to hold their numbers in the air so the prosecution and defense can note who answered their questions. In addition, some judges will allow the attorneys to ask the jury pool specific questions. These are usually follow-up questions from the general questions asked previously.

It is important to understand that individuals do not "get selected" for a jury, explains former Sarasota, Florida prosecutor Jessie Weissman. Jurors who end up on the panel for a trial are the jurors that the attorneys did not remove from the initial jury pool.