what is the criteria for the use of peremptory challenge?
Both parties in a civil or criminal jury trial may exercise peremptory challenges and strike potential jurors whom they believe would not agree with their side. This challenges can be exercised for any reason at all, except a discriminatory reason – such as striking all the women if there is a woman defendant, or striking all of the white jurors if the defendant is white. Other protected classes have been ruled to be permissible reasons for strike, such as association with an organization. Otherwise, if the attorney believes that someone with a bumper sticker that indicates they are very conservative would not rule for a liberal argument or criminal defendant, he may exercise that peremptory challenge without restriction. If the juror otherwise is a member of a protected class, for example a woman in the case of a woman defendant, victim or plaintiff, then the other side may challenge the use of the peremptory strike and the attorney then must articulate the reason for the strike. If not challenged, the attorney is under no obligation to state why the juror is being struck.
Each state will have different statutes governing the use of peremptory challenges and each jurisdiction within that state may have different rules altogether. Many judges offer a "strike down", where they have a 40 member jury pool, and rather than giving each side 6 strikes and limiting the pool to 24, plus alternates, the judge will let each side go back and forth until the 13 or 14 remaining will comprise the jury, with the last several strikes as alternates.
Kyla Kelim
