How to Take Notes During Voir Dire in a Criminal Case

In my opinion, the most important aspect of a criminal jury trial is the voir dire. A case can literally be won or lost during this process. Think about it. Vior dire is the part of the trial where a jury is selected. In any criminal case, there will always be good jurors you want to decide the facts of the case, and there will always be bad jurors you don’t want anywhere near the case. It doesn’t matter if you’re a prosecutor or a defense attorney. Selecting a bad jury can mean the difference between a favorable outcome and a not so good one.

So what makes vio say so difficult? Well, there’s a lot going on. Basically, during this process, all parties to the case, the judge, the prosecutor, and the defense attorney ask questions of a group of jurors about the facts and issues in the case. Due to the amount of information provided and the speed of this process, it is important to stay organized and take good notes. That way, when it comes to selecting a jury, you have an idea of ​​which ones you want and which ones you don’t.

For me I learn better visually. So I’ve developed a fairly simple system that allows me to keep track of all the jurors, take notes on what they say, and then delete them once they’ve been removed from the group. To do this, get the following materials: 1 sheet of legal size paper, a book of 1×2-inch sticky pads, 2 different colored pens.

What I do is I put sticky pads on the legal sheet in the way the jury sits. So if it’s a misdemeanor case, there will typically be 20 jurors in the pool. So put 20 sticky pads. Then number each sticky pad to correlate with the individual jury number. I also write at the top of the sticky pad whether the juror is male or female, and their age. That way, when I talk to them or when they talk, I won’t confuse or misidentify anyone.

Once I’ve set that up, I proceed to take abbreviated notes for each comment made. I will also put a mark at the bottom of each pad each time the juror speaks. So I know who has spoken and who has not. Throughout this process I am constantly evaluating what the members of the jury say and I will make 3 points depending on whether I like them or not. I’ll put a cross if I don’t like them next to their number. If I am undecided or I think they will be neutral, I will put a horizontal line. If I like them, I’ll put a check mark.