Su v. Siemens Industry, Inc.

Filing 187

ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR WRITTEN JURY QUESTIONNAIRE re 113 Proposed Voir Dire filed by Siemens Industry, Inc. Signed by Judge Jon S. Tigar on July 27, 2015. (wsn, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 7/27/2015)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JULIE SU,

Case No. 12-cv-03743-JST
Plaintiff,

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ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR
WRITTEN JURY QUESTIONNAIRE

v.
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SIEMENS INDUSTRY, INC.,

Re: Dkt. No. 113

Defendant.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Jury selection in this case is scheduled to begin on August 17, 2015. The parties have

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jointly requested that the Court use a written questionnaire as part of jury selection, in addition to

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oral voir dire. ECF No. 113.

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The Court has wide discretion to determine the appropriate method of selecting a jury in an

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individual case. Written juror questionnaires are particularly useful where “lengthy voir dire may

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be necessary, many prospective jurors are likely to be ineligible, an anonymous jury procedure is

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used, questions regarding extensive pretrial publicity carry a serious risk of prejudicing potential

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jurors, or the case directly implicates sensitive, personal, moral or religious issues.” United States

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v. Jackson, 863 F. Supp. 1449, 1459 (D. Kan. 1994). On the other hand, a written questionnaire is

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not essential in all cases. Where few or none of the foregoing considerations are present, the

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Court may reasonably conclude that the additional time and expense associated with a

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questionnaire outweigh the benefits to the parties, counsel, and the Court. “The variety of options

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available to the District Judge to identify actual prejudice provides sufficient assurance to the

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Court that a written jury questionnaire, although a potentially helpful guide, is not a necessary tool

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to ensure an impartial jury.” United States v. Kaplan, No. 2:13-CR-00377-GMN, 2014 WL

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3366442, at *8 (D. Nev. July 8, 2014).

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In this case, in which it seems likely that the trial can be concluded in two weeks of jury

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time and the jury can be selected in one day, and in which the issues involved are neither complex

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nor particularly sensitive, the Court concludes that a questionnaire is unnecessary. Accordingly,

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oral voir dire will proceed on August 17 according to the guidelines set forth at the pretrial

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conference conducted on July 10.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: July 27, 2015
______________________________________
JON S. TIGAR
United States District Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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