Voir dire questions in a Georgia divorce are limited by rule, and the judge controls how many of them you get to ask.
The Court Sets the Terms
Uniform Superior Court Rule 10.1 permits the court to propound, or to have counsel propound, “such questions of the jurors as provided in OCGA 15-12-133; however, the form, time required and number of such questions is within the discretion of the court.”
So there is no fixed allotment. How long you get, and how many questions you get, is the judge’s call.
What the Rule Puts Off Limits
Rule 10.1 bars three kinds of question outright: (1) it is “improper to ask how a juror would act in certain contingencies or on a certain hypothetical state of facts,” (2) no question may be “framed so as to require a response from a juror which might amount to a prejudgment of the action,” and (3) “[q]uestions calling for an opinion by a juror on matters of law are improper.” Hypothetical questions generally “are discouraged, but may be allowed in the discretion of the court.”
The court will also “exclude questions which have been answered in substance previously by the same juror.”
Group Questions Are Allowed
The court may require that a question “be asked once only to the full array of the jurors, rather than to every juror – one at a time.” One condition attaches: the question and the response must be framed to give the questioner “an individual response prior to the interposition of challenge.”
Object Now or Lose It
Rule 10.1 closes with this: “Objections to the mode and conduct of voir dire must be raised promptly or they will be regarded as waived.” Saving the point for a motion for new trial is too late.
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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!