Use the same hypothetical case from last week: One night, Joe, an over-the-road truck driver, was driving on I-70 around 11 p.m. All of the sudden Joe noticed that there was a car in the middle of the highway with no lights on. Joe attempted to swerve at the last minute to avoid a collision but ended up clipping the corner of the passenger’s side of the back bumper of the vehicle causing it to spin. Along comes John from around a curve, sees the car and swerves missing the car entirely. However, in doing so he ran over Greg, a passenger in the vehicle, dragging him over100 feet. Greg was found dead. The coroner determined that it was most probable that Greg was dead before John ran him over. An expert in traffic accident reconstruction determined that the impact of Joe’s truck with Greg’s vehicle could have launched Greg from the car and into the road. Greg’s family, his mom, dad, 5 year-old son and the son’s mother all filed a complaint against Joe and John for wrongful death.
In the discovery process you learn that the evidence will prove:
John is a stock car driver and the car he was driving that night could exceed 120 mph.
Joe had driven from Pennsylvania to Oregon and was driving back to Pennsylvania the night of the accident. You also learned that Joe had cheated on his log book in the last 2 year.
Greg had not had a job for at least 6 months, has been in prison and had never paid child support for his 5-year-old son.
Greg was close to his mom, but he has been estranged from his father for the last 2 years. Greg’s mom and dad see his 5-year-old son on a regular basis.
Greg and his son’s mom were never married, nor did they live together.
And don’t forget that the experts testifying in the case are the coroner and accident reconstructionist.
In this assignment please draft 10 voir dire questions you would ask the jury as John’s attorney, Joe’s attorney and the plaintiffs’ attorney to determine if the juror has an unfair bias or prejudice toward the parties and/or the case. Explain your reasoning for each question.
Length: 3-4 pages
Your assignment should demonstrate an understanding of legal writing, as well as the differences between legal writing and academic writing. It should demonstrate thoughtful consideration, a good understanding of the substantive content, and your ability to communicate information clearly, effectively, and in an appropriate tone. Your response should reflect graduate-level writing and BLUEBOOK standards for formatting and citation.
