In most instances, the details of a car accident case are tried by a jury instead of a judge. This means that your attorney will need to pick jurors that can will sympathize with your case. With both sides seeking different things in the jurors they choose, selecting a fair jury is crucial.

Who is eligible to be a juror?

The process of selecting a jury for a trial is called voir dire. The first step in choosing who will make up this jury involves calling on randomly selected residents in the county where the case is being tried. Commonly, voting and driver's license lists are what determines who will be asked to appear for jury selection.

Not all residents are eligible to sit on a jury. Eligibility rests on being:

• Over the age of 18,
• A citizen of the United States,
• Resident of the county,
• Physically and mentally competent,
• Able to hear and understand English, and
• Free from felony convictions.

Aside from these qualifications, jurors of different demographics will be called to sit through the trial. After calling in potential jurors, the judge asks any of those selected if they are acquainted with anyone involved in the case, including the attorneys, the parties themselves, or witnesses that have been called to testify. This can exempt some people from sitting on a jury.

The next step will be to call 12 names to sit in the jury box to be questioned by the plaintiff's attorneys. These questions will likely be aimed at finding someone that is sympathetic to lawsuits. When the defense attorney is asking questions, they are looking to find jurors that take the opposite approach, believing that personal injury settlements should not amount to much.

Based on this information, each side will submit a list of the jurors they would like eliminated. The attorneys and the judge will then work together to select a list of jurors that will provide the most fair and balanced outcome in the trial. This is done by selecting a jury that will look at the evidence and the law instead of their own personal biases when making a decision.