§ 222.5.Voir dire in civil cases; “Improper question”

Section 222.5 sets the structure for civil voir dire. To select a fair and impartial jury, the trial judge conducts an initial examination of prospective jurors, considering the form and subject matter of voir dire questions with counsel at the final status conference or the first practical opportunity, and may include additional questions the parties request as the judge deems proper.

After the judge’s initial examination, counsel for each side has the right to examine prospective jurors directly, by oral questioning, so they can intelligently exercise both peremptory challenges and challenges for cause. The judge sets reasonable limits on that examination but must permit liberal and probing questioning aimed at discovering bias or prejudice tied to the case, and cannot require counsel to submit voir dire questions in advance unless a particular attorney engages in improper questioning. The judge also cannot impose unreasonable or arbitrary time limits, or adopt an inflexible time-limit policy, and must weigh factors like the time counsel requests, the case’s complexity, its length, and the number of parties and witnesses, adding supplemental time as unusual juror responses, panel composition, or an unusual number of cause challenges warrant.

Section 222.5(c)(3) supplies the key definition: an “improper question” is one that, as its dominant purpose, attempts to precondition prospective jurors to a particular result, indoctrinate the jury, or question jurors about the pleadings or the applicable law. The section also lets parties request a brief opening statement before oral questioning starts, permits attorney-only examination outside the judge’s presence on stipulation, requires the court not to arbitrarily refuse reasonable written questionnaires when requested, and requires the judge to give the parties, at the earliest practical time, both an alphabetical list and a call-order list of prospective jurors.