Criminal Law Masters of the Courtroom Attorney in Winona, Minnesota
Doug Thompson – “Educate the Jury”
Doug Thompson – “Educate the Jury”
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Doug had a way of doing voir dire that would educate everyone in the pool, all the veneer men before they became jurors. And I think without doing the great job on voir dire any attorney is lost. In voir dire, what Dougie would ask, he would say before any evidence is introduced, before anyone testifies he would say, “Are you leaning one way or the other?” And most jurors candidly say, they think they’re choosing the right answer, “No, I’m not leaning anyway.” And Dougie would then say, “Well then, you don’t understand the presumption of innocence because you should be squarely on innocent.” And the voir dire is the start of the education process for the jurors who know nothing but what they see on TV.
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Winona, MN Criminal Defense Attorney J.P. Plachecki talks about Doug Thomson and his success stories. Doug possessed a unique approach to conducting voir dire that served as an enlightening experience for all potential jurors in the pool, including those in the veneer phase before their selection. The significance of skillful voir dire cannot be underestimated, as it lays the foundation for a lawyer’s success in a case. During voir dire, Doug employed a specific line of questioning. He would address the jurors before any evidence or testimony had been presented, asking them, “Are you leaning one way or the other?” In response, most jurors, aiming to provide the correct response, would state that they were not leaning in any direction. Doug’s follow-up was revealing: “Then you don’t grasp the presumption of innocence, as you should be firmly aligned with innocence.” This process of voir dire marked the inception of an educational journey for jurors who often had limited exposure to legal matters beyond what they had seen on television.
