Free Proposed Voir Dire - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

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FENNEMORE CRAIG, P.C.
P H O E N IX

Mishka L. Marshall (016641) MARSHALL LAW GROUP, P.C. 777 E. Thomas Rd., Suite 210 Phoenix, Arizona 85014 Telephone: 602/274-7873 Facsimile: 602/274-8207 Email: [email protected] Attorney for Plaintiff Sean Hargrow Mary H. Beard Admitted Pro Hac Vice FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION 3620 Hacks Cross Road, Building B-3rd Floor Memphis, TN 38125 Telephone: (901) 434-8061 Facsimile: (901) 434-9279 Email: [email protected] FENNEMORE CRAIG, P.C. Lori A. Higuera (No. 017273) Alec R. Hillbo (No. 020185) 3003 North Central Avenue Suite 2600 Phoenix, AZ 85012-2913 Telephone: (602) 916-5000 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Attorneys for Defendant Federal Express Corporation . UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Document 133

Filed 11/02/2006

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SEAN L. HARGROW, Plaintiff, v. FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation; JOHN and JANE DOES IX; BLACK CORPORATION I-X; WHITE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES I-X, Defendants.

No. 03-0642 PHX DGC

JOINT PROPOSED VOIR DIRE QUESTIONS

The parties submit the following joint proposed voir dire.
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1.

Have any of you read or heard anything about this case from any source whatsoever? Given the brief description of the facts, is there anything about this case that would cause you to believe that you could not consider the evidence fairly and impartially according to the law? The Plaintiff is represented by Mishka L. Marshall of Marshall Law Group. Do you know Plaintiff's counsel, or any of the employees in her office on any basis social, professional or otherwise? If so, explain how you know them. The Defendant is represented by Mary Beard, an attorney for Federal Express and Clint Saxton. Do any of you know the Defendant's counsel or any employees of their office on any basis ­ social, professional or otherwise? If so, explain how you know them. The witnesses who may be called during this trial are: [Witness List is read]. Do you know or think you might know any of these witnesses? Do you have strong feelings either for or against a party who brings a lawsuit? Have any of you or members of your family been a party or witness in any litigation (excluding domestic relations, traffic or probate)?

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P H O E N IX

7.

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Do any of you or any members of your family have any legal education or training? The Plaintiff in this case is Sean Hargrow. Are you related in any way to or know Mr. Hargrow or any of his family members or acquaintances? If so, have they told you anything about Mr. Hargrow, about his family, or about Federal Express? If so, what? Do any of you know anything about Mr. Hargrow that might influence you in deciding this case? What? Has it given you a positive or negative impression or neither of him? The Defendant in this case is Federal Express Corporation. Do any of you currently or have any of you ever worked for Federal Express? Are any of you presently doing business with or do any of you have any relationship with Federal Express or have any of you in the past done business with or had any relationship with Federal Express? Have you or any members of your family ever worked for Federal Express? If so, when and in what capacity? Have you or any family member or friend or acquaintance ever had an experience of any kind with Federal Express that would affect your ability to render a fair and impartial verdict in this case? Have you or any family member or friend or acquaintance ever read or seen anything about Federal Express that would affect your ability to be fair and impartial? Have any of you ever heard anything about Federal Express, other than advertising? Do any of you currently or have any of you ever worked for a competitor of Federal Express (e.g. UPS, DHL, Airborne Express)? Do you, your family members, or close friends own stock in Federal Express or have any other financial interest in Federal Express? Do you know of any reason why you would tend to favor the company or the employee in this case? If yes, please explain. Have you, a family member, or a close friend ever had a legal dispute with an

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P H O E N IX

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employer or employee? If so, what was the nature of the dispute? 20. Is there anything in your background or beliefs that would make it impossible for you to award monetary damages in this case?

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Have you ever been out of work for a long period of time? If so, what was the reason? Are you currently employed? If so, a. Where? b. In what capacity? c. How long have you been employed in your current job? d. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being extremely satisfied, how would you rate your current job satisfaction?

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What was your most recent job other than the one you currently hold? a. In what capacity where you employed? b. How long were you so employed? c. Did you leave that position voluntarily? d. Why are you no longer employed in that position

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24.

Have any of you or a family member or close friend ever been disciplined at work or terminated by any employer? If yes, please explain the circumstances. For those who are married, is your spouse currently employed? a. Where? For how long? b. In what capacity?

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Have any of you or any member or your family been employed in the personnel or human resources department of any company? If yes, please explain your position

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and job duties. 27. Have any of you or anyone you know ever been employed in a management position of a company? If yes, please explain your position, job duties and state the number of people supervised. Did you or the person you know have the power to hire, fire, and discipline people? Do you think that managers are ever wrong in these types of decisions? Have you or this person ever been involved in a situation where you or they had to discipline or fire someone? If so, please explain. In a case involving a dispute between a manager and an employee, do you have any tendency to believe or find more credible the employee or the supervisor? Have any of you ever been involved in any respect in making policies for a company? If so, please describe. Do you have any children? If so, how many? What are their ages and sexes? Are any of your children employed? If so, by whom are they employed. Please describe their jobs, including how long they have been employed in them. Have any of you been employed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Arizona Civil Rights Division, or any other agency which receives complaints of retaliation? Do you think that an employee should be able to resolve his or her own differences with an employer rather than file a lawsuit?

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Do you believe that laws that prevent discrimination in the workplace provide too much protection? Please explain. Do you believe that discrimination exists in the workplace? Please explain. Do any of you have any training in personnel or human resources matters, including employment discrimination laws and/or policies? Describe the training. Do any of you have any prior jury experience? If so, explain. Have you or any member of your family been employed by any law firm or court system?

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39.

Does anyone have any medical problems, for instance, poor eyesight or hearing, that would make it hard for you to be a juror in this case? Have any of you, or someone you know, experienced any debilitating mental condition, or suffered from severe depression or anxiety? Does anyone have a hard time understanding the English language in verbal or written form? Has anyone known of a situation where the conduct of an employee or supervisor resulted in an investigation? If yes, please describe the situation. Have any of you ever felt that your managers at work threatened to discharge you from your employment? Would you distrust the testimony of a company employee regarding the facts of this case merely because that employee is still employed with the company? Do you think employees of a company would be untruthful about events to protect themselves or their employer? Would you distrust the testimony of a company employee regarding the facts of this case merely because that employee is or was employed as a manager with the company? If the evidence shows that Plaintiff cannot carry his burden, would you have any difficulty in returning a verdict for Defendant and awarding Plaintiff nothing? If the evidence shows that Plaintiff can prove his case, would you have any difficulty returning a verdict for Plaintiff and awarding Plaintiff damages?

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Do you think that people should be compensated for their pain and suffering and emotional distress when they have been unlawfully discriminated or retaliated against at their job? Do you think your feelings would make it difficult for you to decide whether to award damages for this kind of injury? Please explain. If you are selected for the jury, the Court will give you some instructions to follow at the close of the case. Can you follow the law as instructed by the Court, even if your personal views and beliefs differ?

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Did you know anyone in the jury pool before today? Is there anything at all which would prohibit any of you from being a fair and impartial juror? Have any of you ever been accused of discriminating or retaliating against another person in the workplace? Have any of you ever been the victim of a criminal offense? Have any of you ever worked for an employer that you know who has been sued for discrimination or retaliation? Have you ever thought about filing a lawsuit, but for some reason did not? If yes, please explain why you did not file a lawsuit? Do you think that an employee who challenges decisions made by his or her employer is wrong to challenge those decisions? If so, please explain. What do you think about a person coming to court and asking to be compensated with money because he or she claims to have been damaged because of unlawful discrimination? What have you read or heard through the media about unlawful discrimination or retaliation in the workplace? What specific situations come to mind? From what you have read or heard, do you think that in recent years the money awards from lawsuits have generally been: a. b. e. too high? too low? about right?

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P H O E N IX

Please list any organizations to which you belong, including business, professional,

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consumer, environmental, social, religious, political, educational, or volunteer organizations. 62. Have you or any family member ever belonged to a group that supports or advocates changes in the court system including tort reform? When? What is the name of the group? Do you believe that any information you have read, seen or heard about changing our current justice system could affect your decision in this case? What newspapers or magazines do you subscribe to or read often? What are your hobbies? Do you have any bumper stickers on your vehicle? If so, please describe them? What radio stations do you listen to? What are your favorite television programs? Do you believe that between an individual, like the plaintiff in this action, and a corporation, like the defendant, there should be any distinction in the kind of justice they receive? How do you feel about people who file lawsuits against their employers? If the evidence justifies it, will you be able to find a verdict for the defendant just as readily as you could find a verdict for the plaintiff? Have you ever thought you were penalized at work for a position you took in support of a legal or moral issue? Describe. Do any of you believe that just because a suit has been brought, Defendant is probably liable for something?

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P H O E N IX

What is the highest level of education you have completed?

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Have any of you ever been employed by the state, federal, county or city

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government? 76. Have you ever filed a grievance under a collective bargaining agreement against your employer or been involved in the settlement or arbitration of a grievance under a collective bargaining agreement? Have any of you, your close friends or relatives, ever been fired or laid off from a position? If so, please explain why this occurred, how long ago this happened, who the parties were, and how much time passed before another job was obtained. Have any of you, your close friends or relatives ever been fired, demoted, laid off, suspended, or given warnings or given negative evaluations because of absences from work? If so, please explain. Did you (they) feel the absences were justified. Were the absences due to illnesses? What was the outcome? Do you think your (their) experiences might cause you to be sympathetic toward the Plaintiff in this case? How many of you, or your spouses, have taken absences from work because of injuries or sickness? How many of you, or your spouses, have stayed home from work to care for sick children? Did your (their) employers have sick leave policies that provided income during these absences? How many of you have or have had employers with sick leave policies? Is there anyone who has ever had any type of dispute with your employer because of sick leave policies? How about your close friends or relatives? If so, please explain. Did you think your (their) experiences might cause you to be sympathetic toward the Plaintiff in this case? Have any of you, or those close to you, ever taken a leave of absence from your work for any reason? If so, please tell us the reason for the leave, when this leave was taken, its duration, and whether or not you (they) returned to the job. Was this leave of absence ever disputed with your (their) employer? Have you or anyone in your family ever owned a business? When and what kind of business?

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Is there anything in your background that you think we should know, but have not asked, that could affect the way you feel about this case? Is there anyone who has already formed an opinion about what happened in this

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case, or decided who should win this lawsuit? 85. Is there any reason you would ask not to be a juror on this case?

Plaintiff's Proposed Voir Dire 1. Is there any member of the jury panel who has been accused, or whose family member or close friend has been accused, of discriminating or retaliating against someone based on race, sex, religion, national origin, age or disability? If so, what was the nature of the discrimination and retaliation? 2. This case involves claims of discrimination and retaliation. Does anyone believe that people are too quick to charge their employers with discrimination? 3. Is there anything about the fact that this case includes allegations of discrimination and retaliation that would make it difficult for you to be a fair and impartial juror? 4. What do you think that someone who believes they are being discriminated against should do about it? 5. Do any of you believe that an employee does not have the right to contest unlawful discrimination or retaliation? 6. Have you or anyone close to you ever been employed in, had special training in or any experience with the following areas: Medicine or the health field Psychology, counseling or social services Affirmative action or anti-discrimination programs 7. Does anyone believe that the federal government should have no involvement in the work policies and practices of private employers? 8. Does anyone believe that the federal government should not be able to investigate charges of discrimination in the workplace?

9. Did you know that it is against the law for an employer to retaliate against an employee for complaining of unlawful discrimination?

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a. b. c. d.

What is your opinion of such laws? How much of a need do you think there is for this type of law? Why do you think we have laws against discrimination? What kinds of behavior treatment by employers do you think are or should be illegal?

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Do you think that an employer should be responsible for unlawful acts, such as discrimination or retaliation, committed by its employees? Is there any member of the jury panel who has witnessed or personally experienced discrimination or retaliation based on race, sex, religion, national origin, age or disability? If so, what was the nature of the discrimination and retaliation?

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Defendant's Proposed Voir Dire 1. Do you understand that Defendant has to go last? Will you wait for the Defendant to tell its side before you make up your mind? 2. Does anyone think he or she might be tempted to substitute his or her own views of company policy for Federal Express policy? 3. Do any of you believe that Federal Express does not have the right to interpret its policies as it sees fit, as long as it does not do so in a discriminatory manner?

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Respectfully submitted this 2nd day of November, 2006. Marshall Law Group, P.C. s/Mishka L. Marshall Mishka L. Marshall Marshall Law Group, P.C. 777 East Thomas Road, Suite 210 Phoenix, AZ 85014

By s/Mary Beard Mary Beard FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION and Lori A. Higuera Alec R. Hillbo FENNEMORE CRAIG, P.C. Attorneys for Defendant Federal Express Corporation CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on November 2, 2006 I transmitted by electronic filing the

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foregoing Joint Proposed Voir Dire to the United States District Court for the District of Arizona using the CM/ECF System for filing and transmittal of a Notice of Electronic Filing to the following CM/ECF registrants: Mary H. Beard FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION 3620 Hacks Crossing Road, Building B-3rd Floor Memphis, Tennessee 38125 Counsel for Defendant

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P H O E N IX

Lori Higuera Alec Hillbo FENNEMORE CRAIG, PC 3003 North Central Avenue, Suite 2600 Phoenix, Arizona 85012-2913 Counsel for Defendant

s/Mishka L. Marshall Mishka L. Marshall

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