Voir dire

Voir dire (ˈvwɑːr_dɪər; often vɔɪr_daɪr; from an Anglo-Norman term meaning "to speak the truth") is a legal term for procedures during a trial that help a judge decide certain issues: Prospective jurors are questioned to decide whether they can be fair and impartial. Witnesses are questioned to decide their competence to testify. Witnesses are questioned to decide the admissibility of evidence. From Old French voir "true" (from Latin verus "true," from PIE root *were-o- "true, trustworthy") and from Old French dire "to say" (from Latin dicere "speak, tell, say," from PIE root *deik- "to show," also "pronounce solemnly"). It originally referred to an oath taken by jurors to tell the truth (verum dicere). It comes from the Anglo-Norman language. In earlier centuries, a challenge to a particular juror would be tried by other members of the jury panel, and the challenged juror would take an oath of voir dire, meaning to tell the truth. This procedure fell into disuse when the function of trying challenges to jurors was transferred to the judge. In England and Wales, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Canada, it refers to a "trial within a trial". It is a hearing to determine the admissibility of evidence, or the competency of a witness or juror. As the subject matter of the voir dire often relates to evidence, competence or other matters that may lead to bias on behalf of the jury, the jury may be removed from the court for the voir dire. Under Scots law, jury selection is random, and there are a few well-defined exclusions in criminal trials. In Canada, the case of Erven v. The Queen holds that testimony on a voir dire cannot influence the trial itself. This remains true even if the judge ruled against the accused in the voir dire. The judge is assumed to ignore what he or she heard during voir dire. The jury is never present during a voir dire. However, since the evidence given at a voir dire may be redundant to evidence at trial, with the consent of the parties a procedure called a "blended voir dire" may be used to save time.