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LitStrat's Mock Voir Dire program is protected under the U.S. Patent Number 6,607,389 "Systems and Methods for Conducting Jury Selection Research," issued August 19, 2003.
Our mock voir dire program is designed to assist counsel in preparation for jury selection. Jurors are recruited in the same manner as the Court selects the venire. Usually about 50 people are recruited for this one day exercise. Before they hear anything about the case, jurors fill out an extensive questionnaire, prepared by LitStrat consultants, which focuses on their background and experiences related to the case. Two attorneys, one playing the part of the opposition, and each accompanied by one of our consultants, are given the opportunity to address jurors in much the same way as the court will permit.
Once questionnaires are completed, standard court questions are asked of the venire, after which counsel are invited to question jurors, both individually and as a group. The entire process is filmed for later analysis.
After the voir dire has been completed, a meeting is convened to go through the de-selection process.
The de-selection process is designed to result in two or three Probable™ juries and one or two Stricken™ juries that are evenly matched in terms of their pre-existing attitudes and biases. In this way, all jurors, whether stricken or not, hear the case and deliberate.
The formation of the jury panels ends the mock voir dire exercise. While valuable in and of itself, the mock voir dire is most useful when combined with a Deliberation Analysis or Trial Simulation. When a Deliberation Analysis or Trial Simulation is scheduled the next day, counsel can watch jurors deliberate the case and see first hand how their predictions pan out.
Once the fieldwork is completed, LitStrat consultants analyze the questionnaire data for statistical trends, and using proprietary methods, focus on difficult to identify plaintiff or defense jurors, including stealth jurors, and those who go against the statistical grain.