UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Nicole L’Etoile

v. Civil No. 06-cv-00390-JL

New England Finish

Systems, Inc.

 ORDER ON JURY SELECTION

Jury selection in the above-captioned matter will be

conducted under the “struck” method and will include attorneyconducted voir dire. See 28 U.S.C. § 1861 et seq.; Fed. R. Civ.

P. 47, 48, 49. It will be conducted as follows:

1. Size of jury: Eight jurors (and no alternates)

will be seated. Barring excusal pursuant to Rule

47(c), all jurors shall participate in the

verdict. The verdict shall be unanimous and no

verdict shall be taken from the jury if its number

is reduced to fewer than six members.

2. Standard voir dire: Once the jury venire is

seated in the courtroom, the court will briefly

describe the case, have counsel introduce

themselves and their clients and read the names of

potential witnesses, and ask the court’s

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“standard” voir dire questions as may be

supplemented upon request of the parties.

3. Random selection and initial excusals for cause. 

As each juror’s name is randomly drawn, the juror

will be asked whether he or she has any “yes”

answers or other responses to the court’s general

voir dire questions. If the juror indicates “no”

the juror will be seated in the jury box by a

Deputy Clerk. If the juror answers “yes,” the

juror will be asked to approach the bench for

examination by the court, counsel (if the court

permits), and potential challenge for cause by

counsel. If the juror is found qualified (that

is, not excused for cause), the juror will be

seated in the jury box by a Deputy Clerk. This

process will continue until the total number of

jurors needed, in this case, 14 jurors, is seated

in and in front of the jury box.

4. Attorney voir dire: At this point, a Deputy Clerk

will remove the remaining members of the venire

from the courtroom, and counsel will be permitted

to conduct appropriate voir dire of the seated

jurors. Each party will be limited to a total of

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15 minutes of voir dire questioning. The court

will keep track of the elapsed time from the

bench. 

5. Additional challenges for cause: After counsel

have completed voir dire of the seated jurors,

they will have the opportunity to request excusals

for cause at the bench. Another juror’s name will

be drawn randomly to replace any juror excused for

cause, and returned to the courtroom by a Deputy

Clerk. The replacement juror(s) will be

questioned by the court as to “yes” responses to

the original, general voir dire, and if found

qualified, will replace the excused juror(s). 

Counsel will be allowed to utilize unused voir

dire time to conduct voir dire of the replacement

juror(s) only. 

6. Peremptory challenges: After all requests for

excusal for cause have been addressed, counsel may

then exercise their peremptory challenges against

the qualified panel.

7. After the peremptory challenges, the Deputy Clerk

will empanel the necessary number of jurors, in

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this case, 8, and will excuse the remainder of the

jury venire.

SO ORDERED.

 

Joseph N. Laplante

United States District Judge

Dated: September 10, 2008

cc: Heather M. Burns, Esq.

Charla B. Stevens, Esq.

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