The following article is taken from the July issue of Harpers magazine. It was inadvertantly sent out earlier without explanation. The first paragraph in brackets is the introduction by Harpers. The rest is a partial transcription of the infamous McMahon video tape. To date the tape has figured prominently in the appeals of at least three capital convictions, which are now under review to determine whether McMahon made jury selections based on race, a practice ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986.
Jury selection is probably the single most important part of the case.
It s the most important aspect, yet it s the most unscientific, the most difficult to learn. All I can tell you is, play by certain rules and don t bend them and don t change them. When you have a juror that you obviously like, just by their appearance, you lead them, just as you lead them in a cross-examination. So you say, Ma am, you indicated that you were robbed at knifepoint. Well, yeah, it might bother me.