9.15 Voir Dire

• Library: Medical Malpractice Law in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2017 Ed.)

9.15 VOIR DIRE

9.1501 Preparation of Voir Dire. The role of the judge is to keep the case moving, ensure fairness under the rules, and prevent improper argument and questioning. One of the roles of the lawyer is to find the most favorable jurors for his or her client. The lawyer is an advocate throughout. Thus, there may be legitimate tension between the judge and the lawyer during voir dire. When the personal history of a panelist reveals an experience that may influence the panelist against the defendant, the judge's approach will likely be to ask "Will that experience prevent you from viewing this evidence in a fair and unbiased way?" This type of question is highly leading. Few, if any, potential jurors will concede an inability to be fair and open-minded. Thus, the lawyer's role is to ask appropriate follow-up questions that may assist in a successful motion to strike the juror for cause, or at least to preserve and develop the record for appeal.

Voir dire can be important in a medical malpractice case and should be fairly extensive, at least as extensive as the court will allow. ¹⁰⁴ A well-crafted voir dire can provide helpful information for both preemptive strikes...