Has anyone here actually been through the questioning for voire dire (sp?) in a criminal trial? If so, could you please share with us what type of questions you were asked?
I got called for jury duty in a criminal trial in northern CA many years ago. This is how I remember it.
The first step was I got the mailing saying I'd been called for jury duty, and to call X phone number on Y day to find out if I'd been selected. Called that number, and learned from an automated voice that I needed to show up at the courthouse on Z day (as I recall, it was the next day).
Showed up the next day at the courthouse. Potential jurors were checked in and given tickets with numbers on them, then sent upstairs to go into a large community-center type room, where we pretty much waited. There were soda and snack machines, as I recall, and games on a shelf, magazines, and two separate rooms where they had TVs on. This was all while we were waiting to see if we would even be called.
Sometime mid-morning, someone came into the room, and called a series of our numbers. Mine was not one of those, but the folks who had been called trooped out after the admin who had called them.
Several hours after that, the same thing happened. Someone came in, called a bunch of numbers, and this time one was mine. Those of us with numbers called gathered our stuff, then followed this person downstairs to an empty courtroom.
The person who brought us downstairs gave us some warnings about not moving around too much, and then the judge, prosecution, defense and defendant came in. (Yes, the defendant was present.)
They were aiming for a 12 person jury and I guess there were 100 of us in that room. The judge gave us instructions and I didn't understand a lot of what he said except that this was a child abuse trial. At the time, I was a teacher, so I figured, even if I got called up, neither side would want me.
They called us 12 at a time, and those called went up to sit in the jury box, where they were questioned one-by-one by the prosecutor and then the defense atty. Aside from the people who were dismissed by the judge for hardship or whatever (lots of them IMO), each side's attys also had the chance to strike jurors after questioning. When both attys agreed on a juror, that person got to move over to "fill in" the jury box, then they called the next set of potential jurors to question.
I thought I was off the hook when they only had 4 jurors at the end of the day and they had to send us home--but they told us to come back. Next day I was one of the first called to be voir-dired. Again, this was a child abuse case, I was a teacher, I figured no way I'd make it through voir dire. When they got to me, they had agreed on 5 or 6 jurors. I went through the questioning and was honest with what I did for a living, did I have kids, was there abuse in my family--and was shocked when both lawyers approved me to sit on the jury! I thought for sure the DA would kick me off. I was juror 7 or 8, as I recall.
Just before they started questioning potential juror 11 or 12, the lawyers asked for a sidebar. (I can't remember which side asked for this.) Sidebar went long, then everybody (pros, defendant, DA) went into the judge's chambers for about 30 minutes. There were still deputies in the courtroom so that was just a weird silent half hour for us all. When the judge, defendant, and lawyers returned, the DA stood up and said that the defendant was going to plea to a lesser charge. The judge thanked us in the jury box and the potential jurors in the gallery for our service, and we were dismissed. It was about 4 p.m. FWIW. A bit anti-climactic, but in hindsight I guess that the SA did a good job of selecting jurors such that the DA talked his client into taking a plea? Really when this all happened I was not wise in the ways of trials. But that's what I experienced. I would imagine that many potential jurors in Caylee's case will spend a lot of time in the "community room" and some of them will get to the "courtroom gallery" phase and many of those will be never called, or be called and struck. I have NO idea how they will prevent word getting out once that first round of potential jurors is let go... But I have faith in CJBP.
aawwwww 
