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Tag: Voir Dire

Reviewing Voir Dire: PLS in November

If the semester is winding down, we are gearing up for our last Pre-Law Society meeting. This one was much different from others as we had a hands on exercise with our guest speaker and even a surprise at the end of the meeting!

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Pre-Law Society, David Moorman, Voir Dire

We started out by recognizing two PLS members who participated in the Ethics Bowl earlier this month. Cydnii Richard-Daniels (sophomore) and Emily Lindahl (freshman) were a part of the the SHSU team who placed 3rd in the competition.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Pre-Law Society, David Moorman, Voir Dire, Cydnii Richards, Emily Lindahl

By placing so high, they have qualified for the competition held in Atlanta. The entire team deserves recognition (including coaches Joe Agin and Professor Bachman) for getting the team to Nationals on their first try at competition!SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Pre-Law Society, David Moorman, Voir Dire, Ethics Bowl

After some housekeeping by our President, Sawyer Massie….

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Pre-Law Society, David Moorman, Voir Dire

…Professor Yawn introduced us to our guest speaker, David Moorman of Haney, Moorman, Paschal, P.C. He led an exercise in Voir Dire, which is the process of selecting the jury from a summoned panel.

Sixteen of us volunteered, and we were given background descriptions earlier in the day.  Our job was to embody those personalities and “play a jury.” Our “jurors” varied: from a country music singer, a retired bachelor, city workers, an aspiring “Instagram Influencer” and everything in between.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Pre-Law Society, David Moorman, Voir Dire

Mr. Moorman began by portraying the prosecution, and he did an excellent job of examining jurors who might favor prosecution.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Pre-Law Society, David Moorman, Voir Dire

He went over strategies of how you might approach a witness, the importance of not turning jurors against, the danger of a forceful juror tainting other jurors, and the like.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Pre-Law Society, David Moorman, Voir Dire

At the end of the voir dire, everyone, not just the jurors, could say they walked away with some new found knowledge of the jury picking process.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Pre-Law Society, David Moorman, Voir Dire

We learned new terms, such as strike, removal for cause, challenge for cause, along with some others. A key thing Moorman highlighted on, do NOT ignore your jury duty summons.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Pre-Law Society, David Moorman, Voir Dire

We ended our meeting with a surprise scholarship drawing. Jean Loveall, Stephanie Fors, and David Moorman picked three students randomly out of a bucket. The three students picked … *drum roll please* … Karen Rodriguez, Michael Freeman, and Paris Fields!

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Pre-Law Society, David Moorman, Voir Dire

Congratulations to these three members on winning the scholarship!

This was a successful way for us to end our semester. Our next meeting will be January 22nd, along with our infamous Ice Cream Social. The Ice Cream Social is open to returning members, as well as prospective members. We can’t wait for the new year!

 

 

Author mikeyawnPosted on November 21, 2019Format AsideCategories Civic Engagement, LawTags David Moorman, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Pre-Law Society, SHSU, Voir DireLeave a comment on Reviewing Voir Dire: PLS in November

Texas Special Prosecution Unit Provides a Special Opportunity for SHSU

Just one day after hearing three appellate cases in the Kerper Court Room, the Leapsters were back and ready for more!

Today, we were going to take part in a Voir Dire training for the Texas Special Prosecution Unit. The SPU was established in 1999 to handle cases involving sexual offenders who have been convicted of two sexual offenses, incarcerated for at least one of them, and are about to be released back into society. The cases they work are to determine if the individual has a behavior abnormality and should be sent to a rehabilitation facility. These cases are unique in that they are civil cases, but they still have a twelve-person jury decide the outcome. Hence, the Voir Dire team is there to understand each person as an individual and see the potentiality of being fair and impartial throughout the trial, which is not always  an easy process. During Voir Dire, the prosecution and the defense will ask a series of questions in order to select the best possible jury for their client.

SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law

After receiving the background information about the Special Prosecution Unit, we were given a fake identity to role-play for the Voir Dire. My identity was a single, 28 year old, with no children, who worked at a correctional facility. I knew, according to my provided profile, someone who had been sexually assaulted, but I could still be fair and impartial.

The prosecutors then took turns asking us questions and giving us hypotheticals.

SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law

If an individual agreed or disagreed with a statement, the prosecutor would ask that individual more questions.

SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law

Everyone in the Courtroom had a different character they had to play.

SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law

They were give certain guidelines such as mine but it was up to them to play their part as best as possible.

SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law
SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law
SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law
SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law
SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law
SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law
SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law
SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law
SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law
SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law

After the Voir Dire session, some students stayed to ask the prosecutors questions about Voir Dire process….

SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law

…how they became a part of the SPU…

SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law

and the cases they have worked.

SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law

I asked Erin, one of the prosecutors, how many cases have there been where the jury found that the individual did not need to go to the rehabilitation facility. She replied with very impressive numbers. She stated that the Special Prosecution Unit has handled a little over 400 cases and out of those cases, only five individuals were found by the jury to not have a behavioral abnormality.

SHSU, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Voir Dire, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Pre-Law

Out of all the individuals who have been sent to the rehabilitation facility, only six have been released back into society and none of them has reoffended. Likewise, the other lawyers had very similar stories to tell and experiences that they went through. We also received law school advice, such as in Karla’s case who wants to go to Texas Tech. One of the lawyers was a Texas Tech alumni, and so they spoke about the different opportunities that Texas Tech had to offer. Everyone was sad to leave, as the conversations were very interesting. However, we all learned so much from this experience, not only of the process of Voir Dire and law school.

Many thanks to the Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, particularly Jack Choate and Erin Faseler, for partnering with SHSU on this rewarding activity.

Author mikeyawnPosted on June 5, 2018Format AsideCategories Civic Engagement, Civil Rights, LawTags LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Pre-Law, SHSU, Texas Special Prosecutors Unit, Voir DireLeave a comment on Texas Special Prosecution Unit Provides a Special Opportunity for SHSU

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