During its June 2024 meeting, the Maryland Judiciary's Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure voted to expand the purpose of jury examination to remove those unable to serve fairly and impartially and to allow parties to obtain information that may provide guidance for the use of peremptory challenges and challenges for cause. The proposed amendments to Rule 2-512 and Rule 4-312 regarding jury selection in civil and criminal cases will now go to the Maryland Supreme Court for final consideration and approval.
The Committee’s review and recommendation follows a request from Chief Justice Fader in April 2024 to consider on an expedited basis whether to recommend changes to the current scope of voir dire, noting that the issue was raised during the General Assembly’s 2024 legislative session. Several attorneys, judges, and organizations, including MSBA, provided comments on the expansion at the May and June 2024 Rules Committee meetings.
Following Chief Justice Fader’s April 2024 request, the Maryland Judiciary’s Rules Committee formed a Special Subcommittee on Voir Dire to (1) determine whether to recommend expanding the scope of voir dire, (2) consider guidelines for implementation of any expansion, and (3) discuss additional methods of identifying jurors who harbor impermissible biases.
MSBA Provides Resources and Practitioner Input on Voir Dire
MSBA has historically produced and updated Maryland Pattern Jury Instructions for civil and criminal trials. The instructions provide guidance to trial judges and attorneys and include both mandatory and permissible questions for jury selection organized by specific case considerations, as well as explanations of the jury selection process. MSBA developed these resources to support a more uniform jury selection process and they have been widely utilized by the Maryland legal community. The civil instructions were comprehensively updated in 2018 and the criminal instructions were updated in 2020.
As the court considers further expansion, MSBA will continue to connect with the Judiciary’s Rules Committee and engage MSBA expert practitioners to review and update model questions that MSBA believes will support the Bar as a whole.
Additional Voir Dire Considerations by Court’s Rules Committee
The Rules Committee’s Special Subcommittee on Voir Dire will consider other aspects of voir dire implementation over the next few months:
- Analyze rules from other states to address concerns about the use of peremptory challenges (like Washington state’s Rule 37) and consider expanding the scope of any rule to protect groups enumerated in Cal. Civ. Proc. § 231.7.
- Draft a new rule pertaining to peremptory challenges.
MSBA will continue its partnership with the Maryland Judiciary and maintain open dialogue as the court considers amendments to court rules and procedures. MSBA will solicit and share the diverse perspectives of our members with the court, review and update any model questions, and analyze and provide comments on any proposed updates.
Proposed Changes to Rule 2-512 and Rule 4-312
The proposed changes to Rule 2-512 (Jury Selection in Civil Trials) include:
- Updating the tagline of section (d) to refer only to examinations of prospective jurors.
- Language concerning challenges for cause has been moved to a new section.
- A new tagline for subsection (d)(1) reflects that the subsection now addresses examinations, generally. Proposed new language defines the scope of voir dire examination, using the language of SB827.
- A proposed Committee note after subsection (d)(1) notes that the expanded scope of voir dire does not minimize the obligation of the trial court to remove jurors for cause.
- New subsection (d)(2) addresses the conduct of the examination using language from current subsection (d)(1).
- A proposed Committee note after section (d) highlights the existence of Model Jury Selection Questions promulgated by the MSBA. The Special Subcommittee has been advised that the MSBA is currently reviewing and, if needed, updating the Model Jury Selection Questions for both civil and criminal trials.
- Current subsection (d)(2) is re-lettered as a new section (e). Subsequent sections (e) through (g) are re-lettered as sections (f) through (h), respectively.
The proposed changes to Rule 4-312 (Jury Selection in Criminal Trials) include:
- Proposed amendments to Rule 4-312 update the tagline of section (e) to refer only to examinations of prospective jurors. Language concerning challenges for cause has been moved to a new section.
- A new tagline for subsection (e)(1) reflects that the subsection now addresses examinations, generally. Proposed new language defines the scope of voir dire examination, using the language of SB827.
- A proposed Committee note after subsection (e)(1) notes that the expanded scope of voir dire does not minimize the obligation of the trial court to remove jurors for cause.
New subsection (e)(2) addresses the conduct of the examination using language from current subsection (e)(1).
- A proposed Committee note after section (e) highlights the existence of Model Jury Selection Questions promulgated by the MSBA. The Special Subcommittee has been advised that the MSBA is currently reviewing and, if needed, updating the Model Jury Selection Questions for both civil and criminal trials.
- Current subsection (e)(2) is re-lettered as a new section (f). Subsequent sections (f) through (h) are re-lettered as sections (g) through (i), respectively.
Additional Coverage:
The Daily Record, “Maryland Rules Committee Recommends Allowing Lawyers Stronger Role in Voir Dire”