Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperUberBob
The story stinks of bull**** to me as well.
Establishing rapport is pretty important in jury selection. The last thing you want to do is have jurors hate a lawyer before the trial even begins as it could influence their ability to make an unbiased opinion (and the lawyer would look extremely unprofessional reopening emotional wounds of complete strangers). The lawyer would be more likely to ask a question like, "Can you think of anything that happened in your life that reminds you of this case?" rather than "Were you assaulted by a man?" Something like the latter question might be included on a supplementary questionnaire if one is provided but not asked in front of other people.
The story does seem like BS, but this is not why. I was part of a jury for a child molestation case and it was mostly the judge who asked about the details. By details I mean did you know the person, how was it resolved, etc. Then the person was dismissed with cause.
The unrealistic part is having only 30 people called for jury selection for a sensitive case.