against a given side); to ingratiate themselves with
jurors or get them to identify with a given side; or
to indoctrinate jurors so they will be receptive to an
attorney’s presentation of the case. All this is
designed to give an attorney an edge. The consulting
psychologist will work with attorneys to help them
in a variety of ways to achieve better jury selection or
deselection. Table 19-3 summarizes the goals and
techniques of jury consultation.
Jury Shadowing. Another form of consultation is
jury shadowing. Here, the jury consultant hires anal-
ogous jurors (i.e., individuals similar to those actu-
ally serving on the jury) and monitors their
reactions to the testimony as it is presented at the
trial. In this way, the consultant and attorneys can
anticipate the reactions and impressions of the
actual jurors and prepare a better-informed court-
room strategy.
Public Opinion Surveys. Public opinion surveys
have been used in many ways over the years. In a
trademark suit, for example, an attorney might hire a
psychological consultant to determine the public’srec-
ognition of some company name or symbol. One way
to do this is through a survey. In other cases, an opinion
survey might be administered to a representative sam-
ple of people from the same geographical area in which
the trial will be held, asking for their opinions about a
certaincaseandaboutthetrialtacticsplannedbythe
attorney. In a sense, this survey allows the trial attorney
to pretest the significant trial issues and to hone the
proposed method of presenting evidence. Another
use of surveys is to determine whether a change in
venue (location) for the trial might be in order. Atti-
tudes in the community about the trial, and particu-
larly toward the defendant, can be elicited to help
convince the court to change the location and also to
help in the jury selection process.T A B L E 19-3 Goals and Techniques of Jury Consultation
Stage of Consultation Goals Techniques
Stage I: Voir dire
preparation
Learn about the case. Hold planning sessions with attorneys.Educate attorneys about contributions
that consultants can make.Review media, interview client, observe
courtroom procedures.
Develop instruments. If necessary, develop juror questionnaires,
survey questionnaires, trial simulations, and
interviews with key informants.
Formulate initial theory of jury
selection.Analyze data from above and propose theory
of jury selection that is integrated with
attorneys’theory of case.Stage II: Improving voir dire
conditions.
Structure voir dire in a manner that
improves chances to uncover juror bias
and to identify juror prejudice.Provide affidavits, expert testimony on:
change of venue; individual, sequestered,
attorney-conducted voir dire; struck vs.“as
you go”system; and composition challenge.
Improve voir dire skills of attorney. Preparations of voir dire topics and training of
attorneys in interviewing techniques.Stage III: Juror deselection. Develop final theory of jury selection. Coordinate pretrial data with in-court obser-
vation ofvenirepersons.
Impanel a jury as favorably disposed
toward client and theory of case as
possible.
Develop rating system to identify jurors for
peremptory challenge by juror experience,
intelligence, sentiment, and social influence.SOURCE: FromPsychological Consultation in the Courtroom, by M. T. Nietzel and R. C. Dillehay, p. 24. Copyright © 1986 by Pergamon Press. Reprinted by
permission.
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