How to conduct voir dire (jury selection) before trial. A practical handbook for trial lawyers.

This is a valuable guide to help understand effective voir dire and jury selection strategies, and then to adapt these strategies to the unique circumstances faced in trial jurisdictions.

This guide will help you understand effective voir dire and jury selection strategies and adapt them to the circumstances you face in your trial jurisdiction.

Voir Dire is an oath that potential jurors are asked to take during jury selection. Its an oath to tell and seek out the truth during the selection process and throughout the trial. This oath takes on a strong meaning for Vincent Paul Candelaria as he tells his life story in Voir Dire. A life filled with emotional and drug endues highs and lows in the streets of Albuquerque NM. His life develops into a lifestyle that most children are exposed to. This lifestyle puts him in Santa Fe prison during Americas most violent and brutal prison riot in its history. It puts him in New Mexicos, courtrooms for the murder of an Albuquerque police officer. Vincent Paul Candelarias story is about life and death, about living free and living locked up. His story touches an array of issues that exists across America today. He expresses those issues when talking about the death of his father and how he feels about his life of crime. What he thinks about the injustices hes endured and the cruelness incarceration brings to the world. His memories explode with killings and rapes he witnessed during the 1980 Santa Fe prison riot. His personal memories of these events are the history of New Mexico and the history of America. It affects everyone directly or indirectly. Like the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger or the tragedy of 911. His story expresses issues worthy of everyones resolve.

Jury service is one of the most important civic duties a person can undertake, yet it is often poorly understood. This booklet has been prepared in consultation with the Juries Commissioner's Office. It answers frequently asked questions about jury service and provides prospective jurors with a clear explanation of their responsibilities and the processes involved in trials. All potential jurors will receive a copy when they attend for jury service.