Introduction to
the Anatomy of a
Lawsuit
Trial
Every trial is either a
bench trial
(meaning neither side asked for a jury, and the judge will be the sole decisionmaker) or a
jury trial. The first thing that happens at a jury trial is the selection of the
jury. In federal court, the size of the jury will vary, but at a minimum, there must be
six people on the jury. The process for selecting the jury is referred to as
voir dire
(meaning "to speak the truth" and pronounced vwär´ dir´). Voir dire is where
the judge and the attorneys ask questions of potential jurors to make sure that the each
juror could be fair in this particular case. Since the process for selecting the jury
differs from court to court, the following is a typcial scenario.
On the morning of the trial, many citizens who
have been summonsed for jury duty will be sitting in the audience. The judge will have the
court clerk call the names of several people (at random) to come sit in the jury box.
These people are now potential jurors for this case. The judge tells the potential jurors
the names of the parties, the names of the attorneys, and tells them a little bit about
the case. The judge asks whether the potential jurors know any of the parties or the
lawyers. Also, the judge may ask some basic questions that the attorneys will want to
know. For example: "have any of you ever been a plaintiff or defendant in a
lawsuit?" When the judge is finished, the plaintiff's attorney and the defendant's
attorney are allowed to ask questions.
When they are finished, they are given an
opportunity to exercise challenges. A challenge is like a ticket
that entitles the
attorney to excuse one potential juror from this case. Each side only has so many
challenges -- typically four in a federal court lawsuit. If neither side uses any
challenges, then the persons sitting in the jury box will be sworn in as jurors for this
case. However, if some of the potential jurors are excused by the attorneys, then the
clerk will fill those seats by calling additional names. The attorneys then ask questions
again and the process continues until either the attorneys choose not to exercise any more
challenges or until they have no more challenges left.
At that point, the judge will swear in the jury
and the trial is ready to begin. The next thing that happens is the attorneys make their
opening
statements. The plaintiff's attorney goes first. The purpose of an opening statement
is to explain to the jury what the case is about and what this attorney intends to prove
during the trial.
After both sides have completed their opening
statements, the plaintiff then must present her evidence. This is usually done through
calling witnesses. After the plaintiff's attorney questions a witness, the defendant's
attorney has the opportunity to cross-examine the witness. Once the plaintiff has
presented all of her evidence, she rests her case.
At this point in the trial, the employer's
attorney will typically ask the court to dismiss the case on the basis that no reasonable
jury could find for the plaintiff. This is referred to as a motion for a directed
verdict. It is similar to a motion for summary judgment, but is made during the trial.
If the motion for a directed verdict is granted, then the case is dismissed. If the motion
for a directed verdict is denied, then it is the defendant's turn to put on its evidence.
The defendant does not have to put on any
evidence because it is the employee who has the burden of proof. In other words,
the employee must convince the jury that she was a victim of discrimination, as opposed to
the employer having to convince the jury that it did not discriminate against the
plaintiff. The plaintiff has the burden of proving her case by a preponderance of the
evidence. Stated another way, the jury does not have to be absolutely convinced that
the plaintiff was a victim of discrimination -- it just has to find that it is more likely
than not that the plaintiff was a victim of discrimination. If you like to think in terms
of percentages, the plaintiff must convince the jury that it is at least 51% likely that
she was a victim of discrimination. If the jury believes it was 50% likely that there was
discrimination (and consequently, 50% likely that there was no discrimination), then the
plaintiff has failed to prove her case and the employer wins.
Even though the defendant is not required to put
on any evidence, it usually does. The defendant will call a witness and when it finishes
asking questions, then the plaintiff's attorney has the right to cross-examine.
When the defendant finishes putting on its proof,
then it rests. At that point the plaintiff can call additional witnesses to rebut the
testimony of any witness called by the defendant. This is called rebuttal. Then the
defendant can call any witness to rebut the plaintiff's rebuttal witness. This is
called surrebuttal.
Once all the proof is in, the defendant will
typically renew its motion for a direct verdict. Once again, if the motion is granted, the
case is over. If the motion is denied, then the case is given to the jury to decide.
The next thing which occurs is that the attorneys
present their closing arguments. The plaintiff's attorney gets to go first and last
-- with the defendant's attorney sandwiched in between. In closing arguments, the
attorneys attempt to persuade the jury that their version of the case is correct.
After closing arguments are over, the judge will
instruct the jury on the law. In other words, the judge will explain to the jury what it
must find in order to determine that the employer has discriminated against the employee.
The jury decides the facts and applies the judge's instructions to the facts (as it finds
them). When the jury makes a decision, it returns to the courtroom and announces its
verdict.
If the jury has found in favor of the employee,
it probably has also followed the jury instructions and awarded the employee damages.
However, there are certain types of damages are typically awarded by the judge in an
employment discrimination case.
After the jury has decided the case, there are
numerous types of post-trial motions that both sides can file. For example, motions to
overturn (or set aside) the jury verdict; motions to increase or reduce the amount of
damages awarded; and motions for a new trial based upon mistakes the court made during the
trial.
