Opinion
CV 10-01173-PHX-FJM
01-17-2012
Margaret Dominguez, individually and on behalf of S.D., a minor child, Plaintiffs, v. Andrew Shaw; Kreg Klein; Alfonso Flores; Johnathon Conn; City of Phoenix; Unknown Denny, Defendants.
ORDER
The court has before it the parties' joint motion to use a confidential jury questionnaire to conduct juror voir dire (doc. 73).
This action arises out of plaintiffs' arrests by the defendant officers. Trial is set to begin on March 20, 2012. The parties ask that we create and distribute a confidential jury questionnaire in advance of jury selection to conduct voir dire. They believe that use of a questionnaire will assist in making voir dire efficient and will encourage more candid reactions from potential jurors concerning police officers and those convicted of crimes. We appreciate and share in the parties' desire for efficient and informative voir dire proceedings. However, we do not see a need to depart from our usual voir dire practice by utilizing a questionnaire that would need to be drafted, disseminated, and reviewed prior to the start of voir dire proceedings. Our experience in most cases - including those involving allegations against police officers - is that voir dire can be efficiently conducted and completed within a few hours. And we have not found that hearing potential jurors answering questions in open court has tainted other potential jurors. The burden of using a questionnaire outweighs the benefits in all but the most unusual case.
As detailed in our Rule 16 order (doc. 22), the parties may submit proposed case-specific voir dire questions when submitting their joint proposed pre-trial order. We will review these submissions and will discuss our voir dire practice at the final pretrial conference.
IT IS ORDERED DENYING the parties' joint motion to use a confidential jury questionnaire to conduct juror voir dire (doc. 73).
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Frederick J. Martone
United States District Judge