Because every case is different, DWI lawyers must change their jury strategy to fit each set of facts. So here we explain some common approaches.
Jury Strategy in DUI Cases
Rather than winning points, a lot of jury trials involve basic human instincts and psychology. For example, jurors start off assuming any person accused of a crime “must” be guilty. Otherwise, they would not be here in the first place. And if they didn’t do this crime, they probably did something else. So how do we turn those initial feelings around? From the very beginning, we want the jury to identify something about the defendant with themselves. Consequently, we look for things in our case that other people do in their own lives. Hence many of us have a “date night” or go to a ball game. While on our date, we have a glass of wine or a beer at the game. Because we are good people, we drink responsibly but then get in our car and drive home. Hmmm. That’s just what our client did.
Jury Selection
Because each case is truly unique, we don’t always pick the same type jury in every case. Instead, we look at the facts and our client to decide who would be best for our jury. For example, we like mothers and young girls for our young male clients. Why? Because mommas tend to forgive young boys, and young girls may think they’re cute. Either way, these jurors are usually better for our clients. Conversely, older men and young boys are better in our experience for young girl defendants for the same reasons.
However, older jurors (in the grandparent range) tend to be much stricter and judgmental. Consequently, we usually strike those jurors if called. Nevertheless, you cannot always judge someone by how they look (see my dog Sassy in the picture). Rather, try to get to know them during the voir dire process. Then you can make wise choices on who judges your case. And that can improve your chances of winning.