Ohio Jury Selection by Attorney Daniel Gigiano
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| Wadsworth Municipal Court |
Ohio jury selection is part psychology, part hunch. In a few minutes, attorneys must decide if a
person could be fair in a particular case.
That person could be a very fair person, but may not be able to decide a
particular case fairly. On the other hand,
another person may usually side with a particular side, but just may do so in a
particular situation.
Stereotypes Do Not Work In Ohio Jury Selection
The first rule in jury selection is not to rely on
stereotypes. While stereotypes can
provide a good
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| Medina County Courthouse |
starting point, the potential juror needs to be questioned as to
his or her particular beliefs and biases.
For example, I am Italian and I love Italian food. While I know it may be hard to believe, there
might be some Italian person out there that does not like Italian food. Another possibility is that the person has an
Italian last name but does not identify as Italian. Perhaps, the Italian culture in that person’s
family is long gone and replaced by other cultures, or simply the American
culture. This also holds true for
professions. While many social workers
and teachers may tend to be sympathetic to people’s feelings and pain, there
may be some who are more skeptical. The
point is before a lawyer starts assuming he or she has a juror who can explain
some Italian cultural or cuisine item to the rest of the jury, make sure the
potential juror fits the bill.
Select Ohio Jurors Based On Their Experiences And Beliefs
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| Wayne County Municipal Court |
The second rule is to get right at what drives that
person. Get right at
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| Akron Municipal Court |
the person’s
experiences and beliefs. Most of the
time, an attorney only gets a few questions per juror to determine this. I devote some technical questions to
determine someone’s intellectual beliefs.
Then, I ask some questions about how they feel about certain topics to
determine their emotional beliefs. If
there is going to be a unique approach to the trial, I may ask the jurors if
they have any issues with that approach.
For example, I tried a case where we slowed down the security video
footage to get a better look at what happened.
I simply asked the jury how they felt about instant replay. The jurors who liked it would likely
appreciate the value in slowing down the video to examine the events. The jurors who did not like instant replay
would likely tune out all the hard work we put into slowing down the video for
their benefit.
Select Ohio Jurors With Values Favorable To The Facts Of
Your Case
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| Medina Municipal Court |
The third rule is ask jury questions that hit on values
related to the case, without describing the case they will be hearing. The judge may not allow me to ask questions
that get too close to the facts of the case, so I usually have to be
careful. The judge limits questions like
that because he or she does not want me to gather a straw poll on the potential
verdict. Would I like to do that? Of course I would. On the other hand, I would not put too much
stock in that process anyway, as a simplified version of the facts may not
match that juror’s view of the facts after hearing the evidence. Different jurors focus on different
things. Sometimes, they ask themselves
if the Defendant is acting the way he or she should be acting in such a
situation. This can be a brutal
analysis, as one charged with a crime may be extremely nervous and struggle to
get his or her words out, making it look like they are not acting right. Sometimes, this intuitive approach is telling;
other times, it is misleading. Yet,
jurors bring in their lifetime of experiences and techniques in analyzing
people.
Attorney Daniel Gigiano.
Experienced. Aggressive. Dedicated.
Attorney Daniel Gigiano was admitted to the practice of law
in Illinois in 1993. He immediately
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| Attorney Daniel Gigiano |
began practicing as an assistant prosecutor working in a courtroom that focused
on major traffic cases, such as DUI and driving under suspension, spending over
one year focusing on the many issues in these cases. Attorney Daniel Gigiano then spent the next
five years of his government practice working on misdemeanors, felonies, grand
jury and preliminary hearings, juvenile delinquency cases, and abuse and
neglect cases. In 1999, he was admitted
to practice in Ohio. In 2000, he took
his experience to a private practice in Wadsworth, Medina County, Ohio. Attorney Gigiano has maintained a practice in
Wadsworth since that time. During his
private practice, he has tried numerous criminal and civil jury trials to
verdicts. Call now at 330-336-3330 if
you need the services of an experienced Medina County trial attorney in
Wadsworth.
