FELONY VOIR DIRE - AN EXPLORATORY-STUDY OF ITS CONTENT AND EFFECT

The practice of voir dire has a venerable history in the United States . However, despite numerous historical and legal discussions of the to pic, and the increased participation of social scientists in the proce ss, few empirical studies have been conducted on what actually occurs during voir dire. The lack of normative data is especially troublesome in the face of recent attacks on the process itself and numerous prop osals to drastically limit or even prohibit what many regard as an imp ortant criminal justice safeguard-attorney-conducted voir dire in felo ny trials. This exploratory study attempts to provide some insight int o the nature and content of felony voir dire. Our results-based on dir ect observation as well as juror interview responses-suggest that much of the criticism and calls for drastic reform may be misplaced.