Preserve the Right to Pick an Unbiased Jury, January 2011

Individual voir dire is an important constitutional and statutory right in Connecticut that provides the litigants an opportunity to discover a potential juror’s bias and prejudices.

The fundamental purpose of voir dire is not to select appropriate jurors, but rather to eliminate potential jurors who have strong bias and prejudices that will be harmful to a party’s case. Individual voir dire is a vital mechanism to ensure that each party will gain meaningful information to predicate a decision whether to exercise a peremptory challenge or a challenge for cause.

The Connecticut Constitution establishes