Venire
● The venire is the jury pool in which trial juries from either civil or criminal cases are
selected to appear in court
● In many states, the list is made from voter registration and/or drivers license lists
● In some jurisdictions, a Jury Commissioner (an elected position) will administer the jury
selection process
● Crawford County
○ Who is exempt from serving?
■ Active service members of the armed forces
■ Relative of an immediate family member who was murdered
■ Those who served on jury duty in the last 3 years
○ Who can be excused from serving?
■ Over 74 years old
■ Currently breastfeeding
■ Will experience undue hardship or extreme inconvenience
Reimbursement for Jury Duty - PA
● What about my job?
○ You may not be penalized for missing work to serve on a jury
○ Your employer does NOT need to pay you for the time you miss for jury duty
● How much does the state pay?
○ $9 a day for the first 3 days, $25 for any additional days
○ 17 cents per mile to the courthouse
Voir Dire
● French for "to speak the truth"
● The Voir Dire Process
● Challenges
○ Challenge for cause: occurs when either lawyer believes there is information that
suggests a juror is prejudiced about the case
■ Ex. a juror who is a close relative of one of the parties or lawyers
■ Unlimited
○ Peremptory Challenge: Permits a lawyer to excuse a potential juror without
stating a cause
■ May not remove based on race
■ May not remove based on gender
■ Limited number
Batson Three-Step Approach for Analyzing Peremptory Challenges
● Party objecting to strike must present facts that "raise an inference" that the strike was
racially based
● The party who made the strike must present a "neutral explanation"
● The trial court must determine whether the party objecting to the strike has established
"purposeful discrimination"
● The venire is the jury pool in which trial juries from either civil or criminal cases are
selected to appear in court
● In many states, the list is made from voter registration and/or drivers license lists
● In some jurisdictions, a Jury Commissioner (an elected position) will administer the jury
selection process
● Crawford County
○ Who is exempt from serving?
■ Active service members of the armed forces
■ Relative of an immediate family member who was murdered
■ Those who served on jury duty in the last 3 years
○ Who can be excused from serving?
■ Over 74 years old
■ Currently breastfeeding
■ Will experience undue hardship or extreme inconvenience
Reimbursement for Jury Duty - PA
● What about my job?
○ You may not be penalized for missing work to serve on a jury
○ Your employer does NOT need to pay you for the time you miss for jury duty
● How much does the state pay?
○ $9 a day for the first 3 days, $25 for any additional days
○ 17 cents per mile to the courthouse
Voir Dire
● French for "to speak the truth"
● The Voir Dire Process
● Challenges
○ Challenge for cause: occurs when either lawyer believes there is information that
suggests a juror is prejudiced about the case
■ Ex. a juror who is a close relative of one of the parties or lawyers
■ Unlimited
○ Peremptory Challenge: Permits a lawyer to excuse a potential juror without
stating a cause
■ May not remove based on race
■ May not remove based on gender
■ Limited number
Batson Three-Step Approach for Analyzing Peremptory Challenges
● Party objecting to strike must present facts that "raise an inference" that the strike was
racially based
● The party who made the strike must present a "neutral explanation"
● The trial court must determine whether the party objecting to the strike has established
"purposeful discrimination"
