• Juror questioning in UK

    From Jethro_uk@21:1/5 to All on Mon Apr 15 19:28:29 2024
    Jury selection is to begin in the NY criminal trial of a Florida man.

    With the caveat I know nothing about anything, is it possible jurors
    could be required to state how they voted.

    Could a similar situation arise in the UK. And if it did, how would it be verified ?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Mark Goodge@21:1/5 to jethro_uk@hotmailbin.com on Mon Apr 15 21:32:47 2024
    On Mon, 15 Apr 2024 19:28:29 -0000 (UTC), Jethro_uk
    <jethro_uk@hotmailbin.com> wrote:

    Jury selection is to begin in the NY criminal trial of a Florida man.

    With the caveat I know nothing about anything, is it possible jurors
    could be required to state how they voted.

    Not in the jurisdiction in which the trial is being held. The judge will ask all the jurors the same set of questions, and both prosecution and defence
    may ask for a juror to be set aside based on the answers to those questions. But neither side may ask any supplementary questions of the jurors, and nor will the judge.

    Could a similar situation arise in the UK. And if it did, how would it be >verified ?

    The UK doesn't have a similar concept of juror selection, so it couldn't
    arise here.

    Mark

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Colin Bignell@21:1/5 to All on Mon Apr 15 21:56:20 2024
    On 15/04/2024 20:28, Jethro_uk wrote:
    Jury selection is to begin in the NY criminal trial of a Florida man.

    With the caveat I know nothing about anything, is it possible jurors
    could be required to state how they voted.

    The juror questions have been published online and that is not one of them.


    Could a similar situation arise in the UK. And if it did, how would it be verified ?


    --
    Colin Bignell

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Jeff@21:1/5 to All on Tue Apr 16 09:54:57 2024
    On 15/04/2024 20:28, Jethro_uk wrote:
    Jury selection is to begin in the NY criminal trial of a Florida man.

    With the caveat I know nothing about anything, is it possible jurors
    could be required to state how they voted.

    Could a similar situation arise in the UK. And if it did, how would it be verified ?


    The grounds for challenging a juror in England are very limited, it is
    not possible to cherry pick jurors as in the US. Basically you get what
    is selected at random and have to live with it.

    Jeff

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From GB@21:1/5 to All on Tue Apr 16 11:02:33 2024
    On 15/04/2024 20:28, Jethro_uk wrote:
    Jury selection is to begin in the NY criminal trial of a Florida man.

    With the caveat I know nothing about anything, is it possible jurors
    could be required to state how they voted.

    Could a similar situation arise in the UK. And if it did, how would it be verified ?



    It's a pretty extensive questionnaire:


    Without telling us your address, in what neighborhood do you live? For
    example, Upper East Side, Lower East Side, Inwood, etc. How long have
    you lived there? Are you a native New Yorker? If not, where did you live previously?
    What do you do for a living? How long have you been doing that? If you
    are retired, please tell us what you did before you retired.
    Who is your current employer? How large is your current employer? Are
    you self-employed or own your own business? Who was your prior employer?
    What is your educational background? For example, high school diploma,
    college degree, graduate degree, etc.
    Are you married? Have you ever been married? Do you have children?
    If you are married, or living with another adult, what does that person
    do for a living? If you have adult children, what do they do?
    What do you like to do in your spare time? Do you have any interests or hobbies?
    Do you participate in any organizations or advocacy groups? Which ones?
    Have you ever served on a jury before? If you did, please tell us how
    long ago that was and whether that was in Criminal Court, Civil Court or
    Grand Jury. Without telling us the verdict, please tell us whether the
    jury reached a verdict.
    Which of the following print publications, cable and/or network
    programs, or online media such as websites, blogs, or social media
    platforms do you visit, read, or watch? (The New York Times, USA Today,
    New York Daily News, Huffington Post, CNN, MSNBC, Google, Facebook, X,
    TikTok, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, Newsday, The
    Washington Post, Fox News, Newsmax, MSN, Yahoo, Truth Social).
    Do you listen to or watch podcasts? If so, which ones?
    Do you listen to talk radio? If so, which programs?
    Have you, a relative, or a close friend ever been the victim of a crime?
    If so, please briefly tell us what happened.
    Have you, a relative, or a close friend ever been employed by a law
    enforcement agency? For example, the police, FBI, District Attorney’s
    Office, Department of Correction, Etc.
    Have you, a relative, or a close friend ever been employed by a federal,
    state, or any local government, including but not limited to the State
    of New York?
    Have you, a relative, or a close friend ever been employed in the
    accounting or finance field?
    Have you, a relative, or a close friend ever had any education,
    training, or work experience in the legal field, including but not
    limited to practicing criminal or civil law?
    Have you, a relative, or a close friend had any experience or
    interaction with the criminal justice system, including a police officer
    or other type of law enforcement agent, which caused you to form an
    opinion, whether positive or negative, about the police or our criminal
    justice system? If so, what was the experience? Would that experience
    prevent you from being a fair and impartial juror in this case?
    Have you, a relative, or a close friend ever been accused or convicted
    of committing a crime?
    Do you, a relative, or a close friend have a pending criminal case?
    Do you have any political, moral, intellectual or religious beliefs or
    opinions which might prevent you from following the Court’s instructions
    on the law or which might slant your approach to this case? Do you have
    any political, moral, intellectual or religious beliefs or opinions that
    would interfere with your ability to render a verdict in this criminal case?
    Do you have a health condition that might interfere with your ability to
    be here on the appointed days and times or otherwise prevent you from
    serving as a juror?
    Without telling us the name(s), do you take any medication that would
    prevent you from being able to concentrate or pay attention during the proceedings or during the deliberations?
    Court proceedings normally end around 4:30 in the afternoon though on
    rare occasions, we might work beyond that. Would your schedule and responsibilities permit you to work later if it were absolutely
    necessary to complete that day's work?
    Do you practice a religion that would prevent you from sitting as a
    juror on any particular weekday or weeknight?
    Can you give us an assurance that you will be fair and impartial and not
    base your decision in this case upon a bias or prejudice in favor of or
    against a person who may appear in this trial, on account of that
    person's race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity
    or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability, sexual orientation or political views?
    Can you promise to guard against allowing stereotypes or attitudes about individuals or about groups of people, referred to as an implicit bias, influence your decision?
    Have you, a relative, or a close friend ever worked for any Company or organization that is owned or run by Donald Trump or anyone in his family?
    Have you, a relative, or a close friend ever worked or volunteered for a
    Trump presidential campaign, the Trump presidential administration, or
    any other political entity affiliated with Mr. Trump? Have you ever
    attended a rally or campaign event for Donald Trump? Are you signed up
    for or have you ever been signed up for, subscribed to, or followed any newsletter or email lists run by or on behalf of Mr. Trump or the Trump Organization? Do you currently follow Donald Trump on any social media
    site or have you done so in the past? Have you, a relative, or a close
    friend ever worked or volunteered for any anti-Trump group or
    organization? Have you ever attended a rally or campaign event for any anti-Trump soup of organization? Are you signed up for or have you ever
    been signed up for, subscribed to, or followed any newsletter or email
    lists run by or on behalf of any anti-Trump group or organization? Do
    you currently follow any anti-Trump group or organization on any social
    media site, or have you done so in the past?
    Have you ever considered yourself a supporter of or belonged to any of
    the following: (the QAnon movement, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three
    Percenters, Boogaloo Boys, Antifa)
    Do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about whether a
    former president may be criminally charged in state court?
    Do you have any feelings or opinions about how Mr. Trump is being
    treated in this case?
    Can you give us your assurance that you will decide this case solely on
    the evidence you see and hear in this courtroom and the law as the judge
    gives it?
    Do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about former
    President Donald Trump, or the fact that he is a current candidate for president that would interfere with your ability to be a fair and
    impartial juror?
    Have you read (or listened to audio) of any of the following books or
    podcasts by Michael Cohen or Mark Pomerantz? If so, please let us know
    if what you have heard or read affects your ability to be a fair and
    impartial juror in this case (“Disloyal: A Memoir,” “Revenge,” “Mea Culpa,” “People Vs. Donald Trump”)
    The defendant in this case has written a number of books. Have you read
    (or listened to audio) of any one or more of those books? If so, which ones?
    Do you have any opinions about the legal limits governing political contributions?
    Can you promise to set aside anything you may have heard or read about
    this case and render your verdict based solely on the evidence presented
    in this courtroom and the law as given to you by the judge?
    Can you give us your absolute assurance that you will refrain from
    discussing this case with anyone in any manner and from watching,
    reading, or listening to any accounts of this case during the pendency
    of the trial?
    Can you assure us that you will follow the judge's instructions on the
    law, including instructions on the definition of reasonable doubt and
    the presumption of innocence?
    The United States Constitution provides that a defendant has no burden
    to introduce any evidence or to testify in a criminal case. If Mr. Trump chooses not to testify, or to introduce any evidence, can you give us
    your assurance that you will not hold that against him?
    Is there any reason, whether it be a bias or something else, that would
    prevent you from being fair and impartial if you are selected as a juror
    for this case?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Roland Perry@21:1/5 to All on Tue Apr 16 12:38:02 2024
    In message <uvlibo$sp18$1@dont-email.me>, at 11:02:33 on Tue, 16 Apr
    2024, GB <NOTsomeone@microsoft.invalid> remarked:

    What do you do for a living? How long have you been doing that? If you
    are retired, please tell us what you did before you retired.

    I have never been able to describe "what I do" in terms that people
    asking the question understand. It's always been so diverse, even if
    working mainly for one client at a time.

    Recently finally decided upon "Legislation Scientist" which is
    channelling Bull the TV series, where as a 'Trial Scientist' jury profiling/selection is the main ingredient.

    I suppose it beats "Computer Programmer" which has worked for the last
    40+yrs, because it's on people's radar, even if I haven't written much
    code for the last fifteen to twenty, and before then it was mainly
    middleware (another much neglected category).

    Do you listen to talk radio? If so, which programs?

    I suppose "Radio 4" and in particular "whatever happens to be on when
    I'm driving" are insufficiently precise? But not "Songs of Praise",
    however that's not really 'talk' is it?

    Have you, a relative, or a close friend ever had any education,
    training, or work experience in the legal field, including but not
    limited to practicing criminal or civil law?

    Is a "yes", good or bad? And while my wife was from time to time a
    McKenzie friend to victims of domestic violence, I don't claim to
    "practice" law, but have *drafted* several fairly important clauses in
    Acts of Parliament, European Directives, and International Treaties (in
    the field of telecoms).

    Have you, a relative, or a close friend had any experience or
    interaction with the criminal justice system, including a police
    officer or other type of law enforcement agent, which caused you to
    form an opinion, whether positive or negative, about the police or our
    criminal justice system?

    I could write a book about this, and my wife used to go on TV
    complaining about the inadequacies of the police and CPS, while I took a
    rather more diplomatic approach via ACPO and the CPS HQ in London. We
    even used to have meetings with Keir Starmer about it, before he became
    quite so famous.

    This is probably bad news for being a juror, because one knows that
    there are so many obstacles to actually getting a case to court, that
    the relatively few which manage it must have passed over so many desks
    they are pretty sure the person is guilty.

    The only exception is perhaps not the defence of "I didn't do it" but
    the rather more subtle one of "yes I did, but it's not against the law",
    which it's not supposed to be the jury's job to decide.
    --
    Roland Perry

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Mark Goodge@21:1/5 to All on Tue Apr 16 12:56:48 2024
    On Tue, 16 Apr 2024 10:50:58 +0100, Simon Parker <simonparkerulm@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 15/04/2024 20:28, Jethro_uk wrote:

    Jury selection is to begin in the NY criminal trial of a Florida man.

    With the caveat I know nothing about anything, is it possible jurors
    could be required to state how they voted.

    The 42 questions [^1] which the judge in the case (Judge Juan M Merchan)
    put to the juror pool is a matter of public record and can be seen here:

    https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/Letter-re-jury-selection-4-8-24.pdf

    Thank you. I had to DuckDuckGo the Boogaloo Boys. And no, they're not a
    popular beat combo, even though that's what the name sounds like.

    Mark

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Jethro_uk@21:1/5 to All on Tue Apr 16 11:50:22 2024
    I wonder, with irony, if it may result in a disproportionate number of
    first generation immigrants ?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Adam Funk@21:1/5 to All on Tue Apr 16 11:40:15 2024
    On 2024-04-16, GB wrote:

    On 15/04/2024 20:28, Jethro_uk wrote:
    Jury selection is to begin in the NY criminal trial of a Florida man.

    With the caveat I know nothing about anything, is it possible jurors
    could be required to state how they voted.

    Could a similar situation arise in the UK. And if it did, how would it be
    verified ?



    It's a pretty extensive questionnaire:
    ...
    Do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about former
    President Donald Trump, or the fact that he is a current candidate for president that would interfere with your ability to be a fair and
    impartial juror?

    Is there anyone who has heard of him who doesn't have strong opinions
    (one way or the other)?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)