Statement Analysis and Jury Selection

Statement Analysis, specifically, the SCAN technique, should be used in jury selection, by the prosecution, in the interviewing process.

Prosecution needs to weed out, quite specifically, certain personality aspects from this case. Opinions about the death penalty are a given, as this is a standard part of the initial interviewing of potential jurors.

Open-Ended Questions

This is not something we often hear about in jury selection but it the single best way to interview a potential juror when seeking justice.  Rather than "How do you feel about the death penalty?" and "Have you ever experienced..." and "What are your thoughts on pornography?", (which are all important questions), we will learn more about the subject from open-ended questions such as:

1.  Who are you?
2.  Tell us about yourself.
3.  Tell us about you, growing up.

It is critical to use Analytical Interviewing where we note:

a.  Where the subject begins the answer
b.  The specific language used by the subject is employed in follow up questions.
c.  Avoid, if possible, introducing new language or wording.  Putting 'words in the mouth' of the subject teaches them what attorneys are looking for, rather than gaining information.

Domestic Violence

*Dunn may be portrayed as a victim of domestic violence by her attorney.  Even though this will be rebutted by prosecution showing how many times Dunn was afforded this excuse, and how often they got her alone, and promised her safety, only to learn that she not only did not fear Adkins, but lied for him.

Jury selection should carefully learn which potential jurors have been victims of Domestic Violence.
In uncovering D/V victims:

1.  Did the victim escape?
2.  Were children exposed to violence?
3.  Were children exposed to violence leading to the removal of children from juror?

A victim of domestic violence can serve on the jury, but they must learn her position:

Is she a no-excuse protective mother who took deliberate steps to keep her children safe?

Or, would she have empathy with Billie Dunn' attorney description of her as victim?

Child Abuse

There are questions to pose to potential jurors in which the interviewer may learn:

1.  Was this potential juror abused in childhood?
2.  What is the victim's emotional intelligence in regard to the perpetration?  This is critical in learning how the potential juror views Hailey's upbringing.
3.  Was the victim made safe?  Or, was the victim left to the abuser?   What is the impact?
4.  Is he/she now an advocate for children' safety because of her own upbringing?

Everything in our background comes with us when we view and make decisions in life.  There is much on the line when one must make a decision for justice which may end the life of another.

Prosecution needs to be very careful in jury selection and must seek, quickly, and "on the fly", as much information possible, from each and every potential juror.

The Analytical Interview process is their best tool. It gleans the most information in the least intrusive manner.