Voir dire is the questioning of prospective jurors before a trial begins, and in a Georgia divorce it works the same way it does in any other civil case.
Who Does the Asking
Uniform Superior Court Rule 10.1 gives the judge that choice. The court “may propound, or cause to be propounded by counsel such questions of the jurors as provided in OCGA 15-12-133.”
The rule also leaves it “discretionary with the court to permit examination of each juror without the presence of the remainder of the panel.” Whether a juror answers a sensitive question privately or in front of the whole panel is the judge’s call.
Striking a Juror for Cause
Georgia recognizes only a short list of relationships that disqualify a juror automatically, and being connected to a party or a lawyer is usually not on it.
In Moore v. Moore, 281 Ga. 81 (2006), a husband moved to strike a prospective juror who was a current client of his wife’s attorney in another ongoing case. The Georgia Supreme Court upheld the denial. It has “been reluctant to extend the automatic disqualification rules for jurors beyond the statutorily prohibited relationships,” and reasoned that “[a] per se rule cuts too broadly and is inconsistent with the traditional discretion given trial courts in this area.”
What You Have to Show Instead
Moore puts the work on the party who wants the juror gone. The husband “had the burden of rebutting the presumption of impartiality, by showing that the prospective juror held an opinion so fixed and definite that he would be unable to set it aside and to decide the case based upon the evidence and the trial court’s instructions.”
A connection alone is not enough. The juror has to say something showing it has actually closed their mind.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!