While facing a jury trial, one of the first issues is DUI jury bias. So how does your Monroe DWI attorney deal with it?
Because DUI Jury Bias is Real
Although the law says you get a fair and impartial jury, they don’t always start out that way. Rather, through experience and jury strategy, your DWI lawyer will try to get the jury to identify with you. For example, we like to ask potential jurors if they go out on “date night” with their special someone? As you might expect, hands go up in earnest. After all, everyone enjoys a “date night” on the weekend. But then we ask if they share a glass of wine or a cocktail? Fewer hands go up, but this is still a common part of dating. And finally, we ask how many get in the car and drive home at the end of the evening? If they did it, how can it be wrong? Because that’s just what our client did and now they are in court. Oops.
While every case is different, we try to bring a common theme to every defense. Because if we can get the jury to identify with our client, they may be less quick to judge. Rather than focus on a BAC, focus instead on how we got here. Then you start making dents in the State’s case against your client. And that’s how your chances of winning a DUI trial go up.
DUI Jury Bias in Selection
While picking a jury, trial experience really counts. Furthermore, trial lawyers look for specific types depending on their client and case facts. For example, we like older women on young men cases. Why? Because mommas tend to forgive sons for bad behavior. Conversely, daddys always forgive their daughters. Consequently, we like older men in young girl cases. For those of us in the middle, we prefer similarly situated jurors on these juries. However, one constant remains. Although everyone loves their grandpa and grandmother, older jurors are very judgmental and tend to convict. Trust me. I am an AARP cardholder.