How is jury selection conducted in Georgia criminal defense trials?
Jury selection in a Georgia criminal trial follows a process called voir dire, in which prospective jurors are questioned to identify those who can serve impartially. The structure of this process is set by statute, and the number of jurors and challenges depends on whether the case is a felony or a misdemeanor.
The size of the jury reflects the level of the offense. In felony cases, a jury of twelve is used, while misdemeanor trials in Georgia are tried before a jury of six under the procedures in O.C.G.A. 15-12-125. This distinction shapes how selection proceeds.
Two tools govern the removal of prospective jurors. A challenge for cause, addressed in O.C.G.A. 15-12-164, allows a juror to be removed when a specific basis for disqualification exists, such as an inability to be impartial. A peremptory challenge allows a party to strike a juror without stating a reason, and Georgia provides nine such challenges to each side in a felony case under O.C.G.A. 15-12-165.
There is a constitutional limit on peremptory strikes. Under the principle established in Batson v. Kentucky, peremptory challenges may not be used to exclude jurors on the basis of race, and a party suspecting such use may raise an objection requiring a race-neutral explanation.
Voir dire is where much of a case’s framing begins, since the questioning shapes who ultimately decides the facts. Assembling a jury is a negotiation within strict limits, where unlimited removals for genuine bias coexist with a small number of no-reason strikes that themselves cannot be used to discriminate.