How Brooklyn Criminal Attorneys Select Juries Favorable to Their Client

How Brooklyn Criminal Attorneys Select Juries Favorable to Their Client

Selecting a favorable jury is one of the most important parts of any criminal trial in Brooklyn. As a criminal defense attorney in Brooklyn, you want to do everything you can to get a jury that will be open-minded and willing to give your client the benefit of the doubt. Here’s an inside look at some of the strategies and techniques Brooklyn criminal attorneys use to pick juries that may view their client more sympathetically.

Understanding the Jury Pool in Brooklyn

First, it helps to understand the overall demographics and attitudes of juries in Brooklyn. Brooklyn is a diverse borough, so you will have a mix of white, Black, Hispanic and Asian jurors. There are neighborhoods that lean more liberal while others are more conservative. Compared to other boroughs, Brooklyn juries tend to be more working-class, more suspicious of police, and more diverse in their backgrounds and perspectives. As a defense attorney, you want to draw out information about their views on important issues like race, class, law enforcement, and the justice system.

Voir Dire Questioning

Voir dire is the questioning process attorneys use to screen potential jurors. This is your main opportunity to identify biases and figure out how likely jurors are to be fair to your client. Some things Brooklyn criminal attorneys may ask about include:

• Views on police – Do they have negative experiences or distrust of law enforcement? Do they believe police officers are inherently truthful?
• Feelings about the justice system – How do they feel about current laws? Do they have faith in courts and prosecutors to be fair?
• Background and life experiences – What neighborhood do they live in? What is their education level and occupation? Have they or anyone close to them been accused of a crime?
• Ability to be impartial – Can they set aside any preconceived notions and only consider evidence presented in court?

You’re trying to distinguish between open-minded jurors willing to keep an open mind vs. ones that may be biased against your client from the start. Their experiences and background often shape their thinking on these issues.

Demographic Considerations

While you can’t dismiss potential jurors based solely on demographics, traits like age, race, gender, and socioeconomic status often correlate with attitudes that may impact how they view your client. For example:

• Older jurors may be more trusting of police and prosecutors.
• Minority jurors may be more wary of institutional bias.
• Younger professionals may be skeptical about applying mandatory minimums.
• Women may be more sympathetic toward a single-mother defendant.

These aren’t hard-and-fast rules, but Brooklyn criminal attorneys look at demographics as part of the overall picture of who might give their client a fair shake.

Peremptory Challenges

After voir dire questioning, both the prosecution and defense get a certain number of peremptory challenges they can use to dismiss potential jurors without needing to give a reason. Defense attorneys strategically use these on jurors that seem most unfavorable to their client based on their background, experiences and views.

However, there are limitations on using peremptory challenges to exclude jurors based solely on race or gender thanks to Batson challenges. The prosecution can argue the defense is improperly striking jurors for discriminatory reasons. So Brooklyn criminal attorneys need to be careful in exercising discretionary strikes.

Favorable Juror Attributes

Here are some of the main attributes Brooklyn defense attorneys generally look for in potential jurors:

• Willingness to uphold the presumption of innocence
• Understanding of reasonable doubt standard
• Skepticism about police conduct and testimony
• Openness to considering mitigating circumstances
• Reluctance to make judgments based on appearance
• Willingness to stand ground in deliberations

And some unfavorable attributes they aim to avoid:

• Law-and-order mindset
• Trusting of law enforcement
• Quick to judge defendant’s character
• Unwilling to consider racial aspects
• Eager to punish criminals harshly
• Hesitant to cause hung jury

These indicators aren’t foolproof, but they give Brooklyn criminal attorneys a general idea of how receptive potential jurors may be to their arguments and their client’s case.

Case-Specific Considerations

Jury selection strategies also depend a lot on the specifics of the case. For example:

• In a drug case, defense may favor libertarians skeptical of drug laws.
• In a rape case, they may exclude older men but keep open-minded men.
• In a domestic violence case, women who’ve experienced abuse may be sympathetic.
• In a DUI manslaughter case, jurors who drink or lost someone to drunk driver may relate.

The charges, evidence, witnesses, defendant background, etc. all come into play when filtering the pool for favorable jurors.

Batson Challenges

As mentioned, the prosecution can issue a Batson challenge arguing the defense is using peremptory strikes in a racially discriminatory way. So Brooklyn criminal attorneys need to be prepared to defend their juror dismissals as grounded in case-specific responses, not inherent bias. It’s an unfortunate balancing act sometimes between getting a favorable jury and not seeming to violate Batson in the process.

Adaptability and Instincts

For all the strategizing they do, Brooklyn criminal attorneys also need to think on their feet during voir dire. They refine their approach based on how potential jurors respond and look for cues that might contradict what jurors explicitly say. Good defense lawyers balance preparation with adaptability and rely on their instincts to detect favorable jurors.

Establishing Rapport

Part of the goal in voir dire is developing some connection and rapport with potential jurors. Brooklyn defense attorneys want to come across as likable, open and sincere. If jurors feel they can relate to the attorney, they’re more likely to keep an open mind about that attorney’s arguments and client. Building that personal rapport can influence how receptive they’ll be.

Educating Jurors

Jury selection also offers a chance to start educating jurors about the law. Brooklyn criminal attorneys may explain important concepts like reasonable doubt, lesser charges, self-defense, etc. They can correct misconceptions or biases potential jurors express. It’s a preview of the arguments they’ll make at trial and primes jurors to view them favorably.

Avoiding Controversial Topics

During voir dire, Brooklyn defense attorneys need to avoid alienating conservative/religious jurors by steering clear of controversial topics like race, guns, immigration, etc. unless directly relevant. The goal is getting fair, impartial jurors – not arguing hot-button issues that don’t relate to the case specifics.

Objecting to Biased Questions

Brooklyn criminal attorneys listen carefully to the prosecution’s voir dire questioning for anything that seems intended to bias jurors against the defense. If they cross the line, the defense attorney objects and asks for a mistrial. While objections rarely result in a mistrial at this stage, it puts the prosecution on notice to keep questions impartial.

Requesting Individual Questioning

If a potential juror’s answers indicate they may have sensitive experiences that could bias them, Brooklyn defense attorneys request to question them individually outside the group. This allows exploring their background further without tainting the whole pool.

Avoiding Dismissing Too Many Jurors

While it’s tempting to be overly cautious and dismiss jurors who seem even slightly unfavorable, Brooklyn criminal attorneys know that can backfire. If they strike too many acceptable candidates, they may end up with a jury that’s more prosecution-friendly. So they carefully choose their battles.

Checking Social Media

After voir dire, some Brooklyn criminal attorneys and investigators will search social media to try to uncover biases jurors didn’t mention. But this tactic has limits, as extensive online vetting can seem too invasive.

Requesting Jury Questionnaires

In high-profile cases, defense may request potential jurors complete questionnaires first to streamline voir dire. This allows collecting background info upfront to focus live questioning on key issues.

Challenging the Jury Pool

If the overall jury pool appears skewed by some glaring bias or discrimination, Brooklyn criminal attorneys can challenge its validity and request a new, more representative pool be selected. But courts seldom grant such motions.

Keeping an Open Mind

While having a strategy is useful, the best Brooklyn criminal attorneys don’t lock in too tightly to expectations. They remain flexible and open-minded, as you never know what you’ll learn from a potential juror until you speak with them directly during voir dire.