In Part 1 of this series, we covered what happens from arraignment through pre-trial motions in the post-indictment phase of a Mississippi felony case. Next, we're going to walk through what happens when plea negotiations don't work out and your case actually goes to trial. In this post, we'll cover the start of trial: jury selection.
The reality is that most felony cases resolve through plea agreements rather than trials. But when a case does go to trial, it's crucial to understand how the process works. This isn't like what you see on TV – real trials have specific procedures, rules, and rhythms that can significantly impact the outcome of your case.
Jury Selection: The Foundation of Your Trial
A trial begins with jury selection, which we call voir dire (pronounced “vor dire” in Mississippi, and "vwar deer" by uppity folks elsewhere). The venire – that's the entire panel of prospective jurors – will show up to the courthouse. The judge will first qualify this pool to make sure they can legally sit on a jury, then the real selection process begins.
Voir Dire: Getting to Know Your Jury
During voir dire, both the prosecution and defense have the opportunity to ask questions of the prospective jurors. This isn't just small talk – it's a strategic process where each side tries to identify jurors who might be favorable to their case and, just as importantly, those who might not be.
Everyone will be taking notes during this process. The lawyers are listening not just to what prospective jurors say, but how they say it, their body language, and their overall demeanor.
Challenges for Cause
After voir dire, there's a break where the parties confer with the court to go through different types of strikes. First come challenges for cause (also called strikes for cause). This is where one side has noticed that a prospective juror's response indicated they might not be appropriate for this particular case.
Maybe a juror said they couldn't be fair to someone accused of the type of crime involved in your case. Maybe they have something in their past that would make them unduly biased toward one side or the other. The judge then rules on whether that's a valid reason to strike that person for cause.
Peremptory Strikes: Strategic Jury Selection
After challenges for cause, we move to peremptory strikes. The number of these strikes depends on the type of case you're facing:
- Capital cases (where life imprisonment is possible): Each side gets 12 peremptory strikes
- Non-capital cases (where the maximum punishment is less than life): Each side gets 6 peremptory strikes
These strikes can be used for almost any race-neutral and gender-neutral reason. You can't strike all the white people, all the black people, all the men, or all the women – that would violate constitutional protections. But you can strike someone because:
- They're not a gun owner and this is an alleged gun crime (you might worry they'd hold gun ownership against your client)
- They were giving hostile looks to your lawyer during voir dire
- Their life experience suggests they might not be sympathetic to your client's situation
- Really anything that's not based on race or gender
The Strike Process
Here's how the strike process actually works: The first 12 available jurors are "tendered" to the state, meaning the prosecution gets to use their strikes first. Let's say they use 3 strikes – then 3 more people get added to bring it back to 12. If the state accepts those 12, they're then tendered to the defense.
The defense gets to use their strikes the same way, and it goes back and forth like this until 12 people are accepted by both sides.
Alternate Jurors
Once the main jury is selected, we move to alternate jurors. The number varies by judge, but typically there are 2 alternate jurors, with each side getting 2 strikes for the alternates.
Once the jury is selected, they're seated and sworn in by the judge. Now the trial can actually begin.