Voir dire

[11] In the United States, voir dire is the process by which prospective jurors are questioned about their backgrounds and potential biases before being chosen to sit on a jury.

"[12] It also refers to the process by which expert witnesses are questioned about their backgrounds and qualifications before being allowed to present their opinion testimony in court.

As noted above, in the United States (especially in practice under the Federal Rules of Evidence) voir dire can also refer to examination of the background of a witness to assess their qualification or fitness to give testimony on a given subject.

The process of jury selection and managing voir dire is a key area of study for criminal trial attorneys.

[15][16][17] The Center for Jury Studies,[18] a project of the National Center for State Courts, has studied voir dire, as has The American Bar Association,[19] and summaries of research conducted on voir dire are freely available in the OnlineJury Research Update (OJRU).