Category: Civil Litigation

What is voir dire & why is it important?

Voir dire is the process of questioning potential jurors to determine whether they are fit to serve as jurors for a particular trial. For Arizona lawyers, the goal of the voir dire process is to ensure that no members of the jury harbor biases that could jeopardize the outcome of the case.

Without a strategic, well-prepared voir dire process, you run the risk of starting from behind with the jury when the trial begins.

The voir dire process

Each judge in Arizona handles the Voir Dire process differently but the process typically looks like this:

1. Potential jurors are randomly selected from a pool of people who show up for jury duty.
2. The judge asks standard questions to ensure that everyone is capable of serving on a jury. For example, if they’re a U.S. citizen, don’t have any hardships that would prevent them from sitting through the entire trial, etc.
3. After those who are deemed incapable are excused, the Arizona attorneys deliver a mini-opening where they offer a 3-5 minute overview of the case.
4. Following the mini-openings, both Arizona attorneys ask questions of the remaining potential jurors to determine bias.
5. Following the questioning period, the Arizona attorneys can request that potential jurors be removed with cause of potential bias, with the judge holding the power to deny the requests.
6. Arizona attorneys also have the right to reject a limited number of potential jurors without cause. The attorneys may feel these individuals have potential biases, but aren’t able to fully justify their feelings to the judge.

What is a Motion in Limine?

A motion in limine is a pleading filed with the court where on party is asking the judge to prevent certain pieces of evidence from being used during a trial.

What is the Definition of Motion in limine?

The phrase, in limine is a Latin phrase that means “at the threshold”. Hence if granted a Motion in limine will stop certain evidence “at the threshold” or prevented from even being let “in the door”.

At What Point is a Motion in limine Filed?

In Arizona, these Motions must typically be filed by a certain date established at an earlier time by the court. For instance, the judge may say, “all Motions in limine” must be filed by this certain date or you may not raise the argument at a later date.

What are the Factors Determined by the Judge?

Historically three elements must be met before a judge will grant the Motion in limine.

1. When the evidence is not relevant to any of the issues at dispute in the current case.
2. When evidence is extremely prejudicial to one party without helping the jury decide on the case in front of them.
3. When admitting the evidence would violate a state or federal law or the rules of evidence. 

If you need help from an Arizona real estate attorney then contact the Dunaway Law Group at 480-702-1608 or send us a message HERE.