The Oklahoma Bar Journal November 2025

T rial by J ury

Speaking the Truth About Voir Dire By Jim T. Priest

I HAVE OFTEN TOLD THE STORY OF MY FIRST TRIAL and embarrassing voir dire examination. It was a $1,500 lien foreclosure case, and I was the plaintiff attorney who had never seen or conducted a voir dire . Judge Purcell turned to me and said:

“Mr. Priest, you may inquire.” Me: “About what, your honor?” Judge Purcell: “You may ask the jurors questions.” Me: “Oh, ok.” I then turned to the jury. “How are you all doing?”

communicates trustworthiness to the jury, that lawyer will usually win.

Me, thinking to myself, better me than him : “Ok, Judge. Let’s start with juror number four.” (That juror was looking at me funny.) And so it went. Surprisingly, I won the trial. I have always thought that perhaps the jury had mercy on my client for having such an inept lawyer. In the months and years that followed, I became much more adept at jury selection from observation, practice and listening to Irving Younger’s Trial Techniques lectures. All that history to say this: If I eventually became good at jury selection, so can you. Voir dire is largely about getting the jury to talk, connecting with the jury and showing you are trustworthy. If a lawyer gets jurors to talk and

After stumbling through my off-the-cuff questions, the worthy defense lawyer did an admirable job questioning the array, after which the judge invited us to the bench. Judge Purcell: “Mr. Priest, your first strike?” Me: “I’m sorry, your honor, what?” Judge Purcell: “Your first strike.” Me: “I’m sorry, your honor, I have no idea what you’re asking me.” Judge Purcell: “Who do you want to knock off the jury?” Me, turning back to look at the panel: “They all look ok to me, Judge.” Judge Purcell: “Mr. Priest, if you don’t knock three off for some reason, I will knock three off for no reason.”

WHAT IS VOIR DIRE ?

Voir dire is a Latin term that roughly translates to “speak the truth.” But every trial lawyer worth their salt knows that’s only aspirational. Most jurors will mostly tell the truth most of the time. But if you assume you’re getting all the truth from all the people all the time, you’ll be sadly disappointed. Therefore, when selecting a jury, be humbly skepti cal about the answers you receive, and never underestimate a juror’s misunderstanding or avoidance of what you’re asking. I encountered this years ago when defending a workers’

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

12 | NOVEMBER 2025

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL