OUJI-CR 1-10
INTRODUCTORY INSTRUCTIONS - JUROR QUESTIONNAIRES
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE ________ JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF
THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA SITTING IN AND FOR _________ COUNTY
| THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA, | ) |
|
JUROR QUESTIONNAIRE
Each prospective juror must complete and sign this standard juror questionnaire and any supplemental questionnaire provided by the court. This questionnaire and any supplemental questionnaire shall be confidential and will be used by the judge and the attorneys to aid them in selecting the jury in this case. If you do not understand a question, please indicate. If you do not have enough room to give adequate explanation to your answer, please use the space in question 27 for additional information. If there is any question that you would rather discuss with the judge and attorneys privately outside the presence of the other jurors, please mark the question with an asterisk ( * ).
1. Name: ____________________________________________________________
(Last) (First) (Middle Initial)
2. Sex: ( ) Male ( ) Female
3. Marital Status: ( ) Married ( ) Never Married ( ) Separated ( ) Divorced ( ) Widowed
4. Date of Birth: ______________________________________________________________________
5. Place of Birth: _____________________________________________________________________
6. Length of Residency in Oklahoma (years):_______________________________________________
7. What County Do You Live In? _________________________________________________________
8. List Other Places (City and State) You Have Lived ________________________________________
9. What Is Your Occupation? ___________________________________________________________
(If retired or unemployed, write retired or unemployed and give your previous occupation.)
10. If You Are Currently Employed Outside the Home, Please Provide:
Name of Employer ______________________________________________________________
Job Title _______________________________________________________________________
Length of Time Worked There ______________________________________________________
11. List Other Types of Jobs You Have Held as an Adult ______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
12. Educational Background: ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
13. If You Attended College or Vocational School, Specify Your Major Areas of Study and Any Degrees or Certificates
You Earned and Whether You Have Taken Any Course in Law: ________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
14. If You Have Had Military Experience, State Your Highest Rank, Branch of Service, Length of Service, and Specify
Whether Service Was Reserve or Active Duty: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
15. List the Organizations That You Belong to or Participate In, and the Offices, If Any, That You Hold in These
Organizations: _________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
16. If You Are Married, State Spouse's Full Name, Occupation and Employer
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
17. If You Have Any Children or Step Children, Please Provide the Following Information:
18. Have You Ever Served as a Juror? ( ) Yes ( ) No
19. Have You Ever Appeared as a Witness in Any Court Proceeding, Either Civil, Criminal or Military? ( ) Yes ( ) No
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
20. Have You, Any Member of Your Immediate Family, or Any Close Friend Been a Defendant in a Criminal or Military Court Martial Case? ( ) Yes ( ) No
Type of Crime Accused of Committing? _________________________________________________________
Was There a Conviction? ( ) Yes ( ) No
21. Have You, Any Member of Your Immediate Family, or Any Close Friend Been the Victim of a Crime? ( ) Yes ( ) No
If Yes, Who Was the Victim? ________________________________________________________________
What Was the Crime? ______________________________________________________________________
When Did it Occur? ________________________________________________________________________
Was an Arrest Made? ( ) Yes ( ) No
22. Have You, Any Family Member, or Any Close Friend Ever Been an Employee of or Volunteer for Any Federal, State or Local Law Enforcement Agency or Ever Worked in a Jail, Prison or Detention Center? ( ) Yes ( ) No
If Yes, State Each Person's Name and Relationship to You: _______________________________________
Position Held _____________________________________________________________________________
Agency __________________________________________________________________________________
Dates of Employment ______________________________________________________________________
23. Have You, Any Family Member, or Any Close Friend Ever Worked for a District Attorney or Other Prosecuting Attorney's Office? ( ) Yes ( ) No
If Yes, State Each Person's Name and Relationship to You: _______________________________________
Position Held _____________________________________________________________________________
Name of Attorney and Office _________________________________________________________________
Dates of Employment ______________________________________________________________________
24. Have You, Any Family Member, or Any Close Friend Ever Worked for Any Other Attorney or Law Office? ( ) Yes ( ) No
If Yes, State Each Person's Name and Relationship to You: _______________________________________
Position Held _____________________________________________________________________________
Name of Attorney and Office _________________________________________________________________
Dates of Employment ______________________________________________________________________
25. Are You Presently Taking Medicine or Have Any Hearing or Other Health Issues Which May Affect Your Ability to Serve as a Juror? ( ) Yes ( ) No
If Yes, Please Explain _____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
26. Is There Any Reason You Could Not Serve as a Juror? ( ) Yes ( ) No
If Yes, Please Explain _____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
27. Use this Space for Any Additional Comments: ____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
I affirm that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
________________________________ ___________________________________________
(Date and Place) (Signature)
Notes on Use
In its discretion, the trial court may direct the use of this juror questionnaire as well as supplemental questionnaires as a supplement to, rather than a substitute for, voir dire. If used, juror questionnaires should be distributed to the members of the jury pool before the commencement of voir dire, and adequate time for the court and attorneys to review the jurors' responses should be allowed before voir dire begins.
Juror questionnaires should be kept confidential, and copies of them should be made available only for use during voir dire to the attorneys for the prosecution and defense, and to the trial court, except as needed for appellate review. Juror questionnaires should not be made a part of the public record. After the jury has been impaneled, the original questionnaires of all impaneled or questioned jurors should be retained pursuant to Okla. Ct. of Crim. App. R. ____ until all appeals have been concluded. All copies of juror questionnaires should be destroyed at the conclusion of the voir dire, and the originals of all questionnaires for jurors who were not questioned during voir dire should be destroyed at the conclusion of the jurors' service, unless the court orders otherwise for good cause shown. See Okla. Ct. of Crim. App. R. ____.Committee Comments
In Cohee v. State, 1997 OK CR 30, Attachment 1, 942 P.2d 211, 213-14, the Court of Criminal Appeals adopted the following Guideline for use in criminal proceedings:
Guideline 3. Jury Questionnaires; Confidentiality.
Since the Cohee decision, Oklahoma trial courts have used juror questionnaires in a number of criminal cases, and this juror questionnaire form is provided to offer further guidance in the use of juror questionnaires. A number of benefits from the use of juror questionnaires have been identified. Juror questionnaires may shorten the time required for voir dire; however, this benefit will not be realized unless counsels refrain from rehashing the information from the questionnaires during voir dire. Another benefit is that juror questionnaires may enable the court and counsel to weed out jurors who could not serve in a case before voir dire begins, and thereby accelerate the process of sending these prospective jurors to a different case. Juror questionnaires may also highlight particular areas (such as prior employment with law enforcement) for more focused inquiry during voir dire. The use of juror questionnaires provides jurors more time to think about their answers and provide more complete responses than voir dire. In addition, since jurors cannot hear the responses of other jurors when they are filling out questionnaires on their own, juror questionnaires can elicit the jurors' own opinions without the influence of the responses by other jurors. Jurors may also be more likely to reveal socially unacceptable attitudes, such as racial prejudice or sexism, in juror questionnaires. Similarly, jurors may be more apt to disclose private or embarrassing information (such as a prior criminal record) in a juror questionnaire than in open court. See Gregory P. Joseph, American Bar Association Principles for Juries & Jury Trials, SL044 ALI-ABA 653, 730 (2005); Lin S. Lilley, Let Jurors Speak the Truth, In Writing, 41 TRIAL 64 (July. 2005); Valerie Hans & Alyana Jehle, Avoid Bald Men and People with Green Socks? Other Ways to Improve the Voir Dire Process, 78 CHI-KENT L. REV. 1179, 1198 (2003).
The American Bar Association has endorsed the use of juror questionnaires. In February, 2005, the ABA House of Delegates approved 19 Principles for Juries and Jury Trials. Principle 11 states: "Courts should ensure that the process used to empanel jurors effectively serves the goal of assembling a fair and impartial jury." Paragraph A under Principle 11 provides:
1. In appropriate cases, the court should consider using a specialized questionnaire addressing particular issues that may arise. The court should permit the parties to submit a proposed juror questionnaire. The parties should be required to confer on the form and content of the questionnaire. If the parties cannot agree, each party should be afforded the opportunity to submit a proposed questionnaire and to comment upon any proposal submitted by another party.
2. Jurors should be advised of the purpose of any questionnaire, how it will be used and who will have access to the information.
3. All completed questionnaires should be provided to the parties in sufficient time before the start of voir dire to enable the parties to adequately review them before the start of that examination.
American Bar Association, PRINCIPLES FOR JURIES AND JURY TRIALS 13 (2005). In addition, New Mexico, New York, and Pennsylvania have adopted uniform juror questionnaires for criminal cases. N.M.R.A. Crim. UJI 14-110; N.Y. Ct. R., App. E; Pa. St. R. Crim. P. 632(A)(1) ("Each prospective juror shall complete and verify the standard, confidential juror information questionnaire required by paragraph (H) of this rule, and any supplemental questionnaire provided by the court.").
While juror questionnaires may provide a number of benefits to the jury selection process, there have been concerns raised about juror privacy. Mary R. Rose, Juror's Views of Voir Dire Questions, 85 JUDICATURE 10 (2001); Paula L. Hannaford, Safeguarding Juror Privacy: A New Framework for Court Policies and Procedures, 85 JUDICATURE 18 (2001). Juror questionnaires pose a different threat to juror privacy than voir dire in open court, because juror questionnaires are written records. A concern for juror privacy is reflected in the ABA's Principles for Juries and Jury Trials in Principle 7, which states: "Courts should protect juror privacy insofar as consistent with the requirements of justice and the public interest." Both New York and Pennsylvania address concerns for juror privacy by providing for destruction of juror questionnaires at the conclusion of the case. N.Y. Ct. R., App. E, ¶ A(1) ("Upon completion of jury selection, or upon removal of a prospective juror, the questionnaires shall be either returned to the respective jurors or collected and discarded by court staff in a manner that ensures juror privacy."); Pa. St. R. Crim. P. 632 (F), (G). Similarly, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has provided for destruction of juror certain questionnaires upon completion of the juror's service. Okla. Ct. Crim. App. R. ____.
(1/2007 Supp.)