Time after time, what I discover
in jury debriefings is that jurors don’t like being “interrogated” during voir
dire. They don’t mind being questioned, but they heartily dislike attorney
attempts to force answers out of them, and especially resent being pressured
into a “yes” or “no” responses.
Now this wouldn’t be so critical,
if it weren’t for the fact that people who feel pressured into a position,
retaliate by disliking the person who pressured them. Cornered animals bite. So
do jurors.
As tempting as it is to finally
get that unqualified “yes” or “no” from a juror, be aware of the consequences.
A juror who doesn’t like you will be far less susceptible to your arguments,
and may very well damn you during deliberations. Not only that, but the
unqualified “yes” or “no” is often the juror simply trying to wriggle free from
your unwanted persistence.
You may receive a sufficiently
truthful and more accurate response by framing your question differently such
that it doesn’t antagonize your juror unnecessarily: “Is it more likely that
you would . . .” People respond well to choice, as well as to the word “would”
which is experienced as non-invasive.
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