Page 14 - Civil Litigation

Chart 3: Trial Activities

Jury Selection

As previously discussed in this practice aid, a trial can either be a jury trial or a bench trial. For a jury
trial, the attorneys analyze and may challenge the suitability of potential jurors through a process called
voir dire. fn 17 After the candidates are challenged and accepted by the attorneys, the judge approves the
selections and empanels the individual jurors into a jury for trial.

Opening Statements

One of the first activities to begin a trial is the provision of opening statements by the attorneys of the
disputing parties. The defendant has the option of deferring his or her opening statement until the time
comes to present his or her case later in the trial proceedings. The opening statement allows the attor-
neys to present an overview of their case by describing the issues and presenting the evidence, decisions,
and remedies the jury should find.

Presentation of Plaintiff’s Case fn 18

In most cases, the plaintiff has the burden to meet the standard of proof and present evidence proving
his or her facts, claims, and allegations. Therefore, it is the plaintiff’s obligation to present his or her
case first. This is often referred to as presentation of the plaintiff’s case-in-chief. To prevail, the plaintiff
must show that he or she has met the legal standard to prove the case based on a preponderance of the
evidence. fn 19

Direct examination is the initial questioning of a witness at trial by an attorney who calls the witness for
examination. Direct examination consists of a series of questions designed to solicit admissible evidence
from the witness in the form of responsive testimony and other materials. Legal issues about questions,

fn 17 Voir dire is also used to challenge an expert witness (refer to the "Presentation of Plaintiff’s Case" section of this prac-
tice aid).

fn 18 In certain cases, a trial may be bifurcated with liability separately tried from causation and damages.

fn 19 In rare cases, after the presentation of the plaintiff’s case, the judge may end the trial with a ruling for a directed ver-
dict because the evidence permits a single reasonable outcome.

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