Jury Research Key in Famous Cases
Oct. 24, 2003 -- The fates of NBA star and alleged rapist Kobe Bryant and accused murderer Scott Peterson may be determined long before opening statements in their respective trials — and by how well their defense attorneys get to know the jurors who will decide their guilt or innocence.
Both cases — Bryant is accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old hotel employee in Colorado, Peterson of murdering his pregnant wife Laci in California — have received extensive pretrial publicity. From the local press in Eagle, Colo., and Modesto, Calif., to TV news networks seen nationwide, it seems that there are stories on the Bryant and Peterson cases at least twice a week.
Such cases present special problems when picking jurors, according to attorneys and jury consultants who specialize in the jury selection process known as voir dire.
"If I was involved in either case — as a prosecutor and as defense attorney — I would be very concerned about people 'auditioning' to be on the jury. I would be very leery of people who really want to serve on the case," said Donald E. Vinson, who is considered a pioneer in jury trial consultation and has worked on hundreds of cases. "In the O.J. Simpson case, there were many people who really wanted to be on the jury and tailored their answers to questions during voir dire to enhance their chances of being picked."
"There's a celebrity aspect of this where people may see an opportunity to get on television and be interviewed by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America [after the trial] and get their 15 minutes of fame," Vinson continued. "It's really American theater at its finest."
Motivated by More Than Civic Duty?
Prospective jurors are randomly picked from a pool of local residents who have registered to vote or have a driver's license.
In state cases, prosecutors and defense attorneys can question individual jurors about the publications they read, their attitudes toward law enforcement, whether or not they could impose the death penalty, and whether they have been crime victims and how that shapes their attitudes toward defendants.
Related Stories
ABC News Live