Opinion
1:19-cv-01174-STA-tmp
09-09-2022
JERRY LAWLER, as father, next friend and Personal Representative/Administrator of the Estate of BRIAN CHRISTOPHER LAWLER, deceased, Plaintiff, v. HARDEMAN COUNTY, TENNESSEE; JOHN DOOLEN; LEONARD BROWN; ELLEN FUTRELL; WILLIAM GONZALEZ; AND JUDY WIGGINS, Defendants.
ORDER ON JURY QUESTIONNAIRE
S. THOMAS ANDERSON CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
A jury trial is set to commence in this case on November 9, 2022. The Court hereby gives the parties notice of its intent to use a concise jury questionnaire in advance of trial. The practice of having the venire complete a questionnaire is useful in identifying possible juror conflicts and exposing prejudicial bias before voir dire begins. The Court typically requests that the venire complete the questionnaire the week before trial. The Clerk of Court then provides the parties with a copy of the completed questionnaires on the Friday afternoon before the trial begins, in time for counsel to review the questionnaires and use them during jury selection. While the Court has its own standard jury questionnaire addressed to general background information, the Court recognizes that special questions addressed to the unique facts of each case can also be appropriate.
Consistent with its discretion “in deciding what questions should be asked on voir dire,” the Court finds good cause to give the parties an opportunity to propose any special questions to include on the questionnaire for this case. Mu'Min v. Virginia, 500 U.S. 415, 424 (1991). The parties should submit to the Court and file on the docket special questions, if any, prior to the pretrial conference, which is currently set for October 21, 2022. Therefore, the parties' proposals are due no later than October 14, 2022.
IT IS SO ORDERED.