Your foreperson is the most important juror…or is he/she?
Often, the loudest and most persuasive voice is not the foreperson, yet they lead the jury.
In the Trump trial, the foreperson has been chosen as juror 1. We hear a lot of speculation in this trial and others: Will the foreperson lead the jury to a defense verdict? How do they influence discussions?
In reality, however, the foreperson is often moreso a moderator of discussion and notetaker than they are influencers. Leaders are the more vocal and persuasive jurors, which often does not align with being foreperson.
In some instances, jurors will elect a someone who seems fair and even-tempered to be foreperson. Other times, someone who otherwise would have been more vocal is elected (or volunteers) for the position, but in realizing their job is to moderate a discussion, they will step back from the podium and allow others to speak first.
A juror who is a leader by experience (lawyer, doctor, etc.) may become foreperson and still be influential, but I would argue that they are influential because of their experience rather than their position as foreperson.
When looking at mock trial videos or talking to jurors, focus on the voices, not the position.
Further, there’s a difference between a leader and an outspoken juror.
Finding the possible leaders is essential for a good jury selection, but identifying them isn’t always so straight forward.
There are jurors who have leadership roles in life, expertise about the subject matter, jurors who are outgoing and friendly and seem to take the lead on opening the door or helping other jurors. These are all possible leaders.
But what about the overly talkative juror? Often, these aren’t so much leaders as they are wild cards and nuisances to the other jurors. Just because a juror talks a lot does not make them a leader, though they can (and likely will) have a strong voice in deliberations. The difference is that they are less likely to sway votes as they are to be shoved aside and cause annoyance to other jurors.
Whether these jurors will cross the line into being a problem is a matter of degree and spotting them is often more art than science. Sometimes you can tell by the way other jurors react to their speaking time during jury selection. Is this juror an automatic strike? That depends on your other options, how unpredictable they are in their leanings, and whether their radical and loud views will hurt you by becoming the spokesperson for your side. The point is, watch these jurors carefully. Just because you think they are vocal and likely to vote your way does not mean they are leaders who will actually help your cause.
jurorproof 