Arizona

Civil Procedure

Civil Procedure

Rule 47 – Jury Selection; Juror Information; Voir Dire; Challenges

(a) Jury Selection. The initial jury panel will consist of persons summoned for jury service who have appeared. The clerk will randomly select-either manually or by electronic means-a sufficient number of persons from this group for consideration as jurors. The clerk will then prepare a list of these prospective jurors’ names in random order, and deliver it to the court. The clerk will read the names of prospective jurors in the order in which they appear on the list until a jury is fully selected or the list is exhausted. If the list is exhausted before a jury is selected, the clerk will prepare an additional list of prospective jurors in the same manner as provided in this rule.
(b) Juror Information.

(1)Personal Information. Before jury selection and voir dire examination starts, the clerk must provide the parties with the following information for each prospective juror: name, zip code, employment status, occupation, employer, residency status, education level, prior jury experience, and felony conviction status. The clerk must keep all prospective jurors’ home and business telephone numbers and addresses confidential and may not disclose them unless good cause is shown.
(2)Questionnaires. The court may order prospective jurors to complete a written questionnaire prepared by the parties and submitted to the court for approval before trial. Unless the court orders otherwise, the clerk must provide copies of any such juror questionnaire and answers to the parties and their respective counsel. Any party or counsel receiving a copy of the questionnaire and answers must keep the information strictly confidential and must not disclose the information. When jury selection is done, each recipient must return all copies of the juror questionnaires and answers to the clerk.
(c) Voir Dire Oath and Procedure.

(1)Voir Dire Oath. The prospective jurors must take an oath administered by the clerk before they are examined about their qualifications. The oath’s substance must be as follows: “You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will truthfully answer all questions about your qualifications to serve as a trial juror in this action, so help you God.” If a prospective juror elects to affirm rather than swear the oath, the clause “so help you God” must be omitted.
(2)Brief Opening Statements. Before voir dire begins, the court may allow or require the parties to present brief opening statements to the prospective jurors.
(3)Extent of Voir Dire.

(A)Questioning by Court and Parties. The court must thoroughly question the jury panel to ensure that prospective jurors are qualified, fair, and impartial. The court must permit each of the parties to ask the panel additional questions, but may impose reasonable limits on the questioning. Written questions also may be used as provided in Rule 47(b)(2).
(B)Extent of Questioning. Voir dire questioning of a jury panel is not limited to the grounds listed in Rule 47(d) and may include questions about any subject that might disclose a basis for the exercise of a peremptory challenge.
(d) Challenges for Cause.

(1)Grounds. A party may challenge a prospective juror for cause on one or more of the following grounds:

(A) the prospective juror lacks one or more of the required statutory qualifications specified in A.R.S. ยง 21-211;
(B) the prospective juror is a party’s:

(i) family member;
(ii) guardian or ward;
(iii) master or servant;
(iv) employer or employee;
(v) principal or agent;
(vi) business partner or associate; or
(vii) surety or obligee on a bond or obligation;
(C) the prospective juror was a witness or served as a juror in a previous trial between the same parties in the same action; or
(D) the prospective juror has-by words or actions-shown bias or prejudice for or against any party or otherwise demonstrated their unfitness to serve as a juror.
(2)Procedure. The court must rule on challenges for cause. A prospective juror who is challenged for cause may be examined under oath by the court or, with the court’s permission, by a party.
(e) Peremptory Challenges.

(1)Procedure. When the voir dire is finished and the court has ruled on all challenges for cause, the clerk will give the parties a list of the remaining prospective jurors for the exercise of peremptory challenges. The parties must exercise their challenges by alternate strikes, beginning with the plaintiff, until each party’s peremptory challenges are exhausted or waived. If a party fails to exercise a peremptory challenge, it waives any remaining challenges, but it does not affect the right of other parties to exercise their remaining challenges.
(2)Number. Each side is entitled to 4 peremptory challenges. For this rule’s purposes, each action-whether a single action or two or more actions consolidated for trial- must be treated as having only two sides. If it appears that two or more parties on a side have adverse or hostile interests, the court may allow them to have additional peremptory challenges, but each side must have an equal number of peremptory challenges. If the parties on a side are unable to agree on how to allocate peremptory challenges among them, the court must determine the allocation.
(f) Alternate Jurors.

(1)Generally. The court may order that up to 6 additional jurors be called and impaneled in the same manner as other jurors under this rule, to allow the court to later designate some of the jurors as alternates.
(2)Instructions. The court should explain to the jury why alternate jurors are needed and how they will be selected at the end of trial.
(3)Selecting and Excusing an Alternate Juror. The court will determine the identities of the alternate jurors by a drawing held in open court after closing arguments and final jury instructions are given but before deliberations begin. If an alternate juror is excused, the court must instruct him or her to continue to observe the juror admonitions until a verdict is returned or the jury is discharged.
(4)Substituting an Alternate Juror. If a deliberating juror is disqualified or unable to perform the required duties, the court may substitute an alternate juror in the juror’s place. If an alternate juror joins the deliberations, the court must instruct the jury to start over in its deliberations.
(5)Additional Peremptory Challenges. In addition to the peremptory challenges otherwise allowed by law, each side is entitled to one peremptory challenge if one or two alternate jurors will be impaneled, two peremptory challenges if 3 or 4 alternate jurors will be impaneled, and 3 peremptory challenges if 5 or 6 alternate jurors will be impaneled.

Ariz. R. Civ. P. 47

Amended effective January 1, 2017.

Comment

1995 Amendment to Rule 47(a) and (e) [Formerly Rule 47(a) ]

Prior to the 1995 amendment, [Rule 47(a) and (e) (Jury Selection and Peremptory Strikes) (formerly Rule 47(a)(1) )] was read to require trial judges to use the traditional “strike and replace” method of jury selection, where only a portion of the jury panel is examined, the remaining jurors being called upon to participate in jury selection only upon excusal for cause of a juror in the initial group. Challenges for cause are heard and decided with the jurors being examined in the box. A juror excused for cause leaves the courtroom in the presence and view of the other panel members, after which the excused juror’s position is filled by a panel member who responds to all previous and future questions of the potential jurors.

The purpose of this amendment is to allow the trial judge to use the “struck” method of selection if the judge chooses. This procedure is thought by some to offer more advantages than the “strike and replace” method. See T. Munsterman, R. Strand and J. Hart, The Best Method of Selecting Jurors, The Judges’ Journal 9 (Summer 1990); A.B.A. Standards Relating to Juror Use and Management, Standard 7, at 68-74 (1983); and “The Jury Project,” Report to the Chief Judge of the State of New York 58-60 (1984).

The “struck” method calls for all of the jury panel members to participate in voir dire examination by the judge and counsel. Although the judge may excuse jurors for cause in the presence of the panel, challenges for cause are usually reserved until the examination of the panel has been completed and a recess taken. Following disposition of the for cause challenges, the juror list is given to counsel for the exercise of their peremptory strikes. When all the peremptory strikes have been taken, and all legal issues arising therefrom have been resolved, the clerk calls the first eight names remaining on the list, plus the number of alternate jurors thought necessary by the judge, who shall be the trial jury.

Comment

1961 Amendment to Rule 47(e) [Formerly Rule 47(a)(3) ]

[Rule 47(e) (formerly Rule 47(a)(3) )] now compels the plaintiff to exercise all of his peremptory challenges prior to the defendant. The amended rule provides that the parties shall exercise their peremptory challenges alternately. Under the present rule, while the plaintiff receives the same number of peremptory challenges as the defendant, the order of exercising them resulted in an obvious inequity. The purpose of the proposed rule is to eliminate this inequity by giving both parties peremptory challenges which are not only equal in number but also in practical weight and value.