On the morning of jury selection, the parties will be given a copy of the list of potential jurors that is generated by the Clerk’s Office in random order. The entire venire will then enter the courtroom in that order, which is also the order in which they will be seated, with the first fourteen jurors seated in the jury box, and the remaining prospective jurors seated in the gallery. The venire will be sworn after some introductory remarks by the Court. The prospective jurors in the jury box will then answer the questions contained in the juror questionnaire and any additional questions governing the case. Questioning will be conducted by the judge. Jurors will be given the opportunity to answer sensitive questions at sidebar if they wish. Once all questions have been asked of the first fourteen jurors, the Court will consult with the parties at sidebar as to additional follow-up questions, and will complete questioning of that group. The remaining jurors, after the first fourteen, will be questioned in the same manner. Depending on the size of the venire, subsequent groups of prospective jurors may be questioned from their seats in the gallery or may replace the first group of fourteen in the jury box.

After the entire venire has been questioned, the prospective jurors will be excused from the courtroom. Challenges for cause will be resolved, and then the parties will submit peremptory challenges in writing simultaneously. Each side will have three peremptory challenges, and multiple defendants or plaintiffs will be considered a single side for purposes of making challenges. If the parties challenge the same juror, both sides will be charged for that challenge. Once peremptory challenges have been submitted, the Court will inform prospective jurors who will be seated and who will be excused without disclosing which jurors were challenged. Excluding those excused for cause or subject to peremptory challenges, prospective jurors will be seated in the order that they entered the courtroom.

By default, the jury will consist of eight jurors, but the parties may agree to or request a larger number, up to twelve. There are no alternate jurors. All jurors seated will be allowed to deliberate. Because jurors are seated in the order that they enter the courtroom, after challenges for cause, only the first fourteen (for an eight-person jury) remaining prospective jurors may be seated after peremptory challenges. 

A typical juror questionnaire is linked below: Sample Questionnaire.