Jury Selection in Auto Accident Litigation: Preparing for Voir Dire, Identifying Bias, Leveraging Strikes
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Personal Injury and Med Mal
- event Date
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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This CLE webinar will offer guidance and best practices considerations for selecting a jury in an auto accident case. The panel will review specific problematic juror attitudes related to both liability and damages in these types of cases and offer guidance on how to identify and keep jurors favorable to the attorneys' case as well as spotting and excusing jurors who would be antagonistic. The program will discuss preparation, types of jurors to seek out and avoid, and ways to approach various topics during voir dire.
Mr. Schermerhorn’s practice is focused on representing individuals and families in catastrophic injury and wrongful death claims. Prior to joining the firm, he spent seven years working for a premier defense firm, and his client list included multiple Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Schermerhorn successfully litigated and tried numerous cases on behalf of his clients in the areas of catastrophic injury and wrongful death before joining the firm.
Mr. Simon is a co-founder of the Simon Law Group — aka Justice Team — and acts as the primary trial attorney. He spends a lot of his time giving back to the community and mentoring other trial lawyers in the craft of consumer advocate law. Mr. Simon is big on legal tech and co-founder of Justice HQ. He is often requested to be the keynote speaker in several annual seminars and is frequently published in various trial lawyer magazines. Mr. Simon is a member of ABOTA, he is also a premiere member of Justice HQ and on the board of CAOC and CAALA. He is also the chair of the ethics committee for CAALA. Mr. Simon was honored as Pepperdine School of Law’s Alumnus of the Year in 2022 and is also past president of LATLC.
Mr. Tobin is a trial attorney who has focused his practice on representing individuals’ rights and has successfully litigated and resolved hundreds of cases throughout the state of Georgia. He specializes in cases involving injuries caused by car accidents, tractor-trailer accidents, unsafe property events, and wrongful death cases. Mr. Tobin is a frequent lecturer and author on trial techniques, among other legal topics.
Auto injury cases have unique and recurring issues about which potential jurors may have strong opinions or biases that affect proving liability or damages, such as personal responsibility, abusive lawsuits, corporate defendants, or invisible injuries. Knowing how to reveal these biases and select a jury likely to support the client's case or defense is critical. While there may be some "art" to this activity, it is a skill that can be developed and enhanced.
Courts approach voir dire in many different ways, so counsel must be aware of any limits, special rules, or time constraints that will be imposed on jury selection.
Counsel will want to learn how to address generational differences among potential jurors and even potentially differing views on travel by automobile or experience driving. Trust in or even expectations about autonomous features may need to be explored. Trial lawyers will want to identify those jurors with strong personalities who can and will influence the others.
Listen as our expert panel discusses successful techniques in preparing for voir dire, eliciting potential biases among prospective jurors, and selecting a jury that will lead to desirable trial results in auto accident cases.
- Rules governing jury selection
- Preparation
- Themes
- Research
- Types of juror personalities
- Dealing with problematic juror attitudes on liability in auto accident cases
- Sympathetic defendants
- Tort reform attitudes
- Personal responsibility
- Dealing with problematic juror attitudes about damages in auto accident cases
- Lack of physical damage to vehicle
- Hidden injuries, for example TBI or spine injuries
- Delayed injuries
- Emotional injuries, such as PTSD or adjustment disorder
The panel will review these and other issues:
- How should attorneys prepare for jury selection in auto accident cases?
- What issues about driving, generally, may need to be explored and how do juror attitudes differ by generation?
- What is the best way to leverage a mini-opening?
