Few options to verify juror's past, attorneys say

The legal term for jury selection, the French "voir dire," means to speak the truth, according to court papers.

The process to choose an impartial jury for civil and criminal trials relies on an individual's honesty, though there are a few procedures in place to vet potential jurors.

When that system breaks down, there can be consequences. Last week, Nashville Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins set aside guilty verdicts in the high-profile rape case against two former Vanderbilt University football players after it came to light that one juror did not disclose he was a victim of statutory rape.

Watkins found the juror was biased and declared a mistrial.

The ruling means the ex-players, Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey, are considered defendants again. They and the victim could go through another trial.

Jim Todd, a Nashville attorney who has analyzed the case for The Tennessean, said he did not know of a way attorneys could have discovered the juror was a crime victim before allowing him on the jury. Even a complete background check would not reveal someone was a victim, he said.

Every person called for jury duty in Davidson County answers six questions before even going to the courthouse. Those qualification questions relate to citizenship and residency status, past convictions and disabilities.

Criminal background checks also are performed to make sure potential jurors do not have convictions that would disqualify them, officials said.

Nashville Assistant District Attorney Pam Anderson, who was not involved in the Vanderbilt rape case, spoke generally about how prosecutors choose juries. She has worked in the office 22 years and specializes in prosecuting violent crimes.

She said prosecutors try to focus on personal experiences to find the things that could make a person biased. Typical questions include whether someone has been or knows a crime victim, has been involved in the justice system and what type of work he or she does.

All of those questions were asked in the Vanderbilt rape case.

Identifying past victims would not be easy, even if their names were run through criminal justice databases, she said. Among potential problems are that victims are often only identified by name and not other unique characteristics — such as fingerprints, she said.

"I'm Pamela Anderson," she said, using herself as an example. "You have a lot of Pamela Andersons."

A search of public records performed by The Tennessean turned up nine Pamela Andersons in Nashville alone.

She said in some cases, jurors are screened through a more elaborate questionnaire process that takes several days. That is generally done only in death penalty cases to make sure jurors can consider that as a consequence.

To do a questionnaire in every case could be a burden given the number of trials in Davidson County.

Juries heard 41 civil and 78 criminal cases in 2014, according to Nashville jury coordinator Ronny Nollner. A total of 5,583 residents reported for jury duty that year, he said.

Jurors should not be afraid to reveal private information in a courtroom, Anderson said. She said judges can excuse other jurors if a person raises a concern about a private issue.

"The number one thing is, it's better to say too much than too little," Anderson said.

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 or on Twitter @sbarchenger.