Free Trial Brief - District Court of Connecticut - Connecticut

Case 3:00-cv-00656-SRU

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Filed 03/08/2004

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT MARSHALL CHAMBERS, Plaintiff, v. ANTHONY J. PRINCIPI SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN'S AFFAIRS, Defendant. : Docket No. 3:00CV00656 (SRU) : : : : : : : : : : March 5, 2004

DEFENDANT'S PROPOSED JURY VOIR DIRE 1. When the jurors recite their basic information, including their employment, please

have them state how long they have been with their present employer (or how long their period of unemployment has been) and how long their spouse has been with their present employer. Alternatively: If you are employed, how long have you worked for your current employer? If you are unemployed, how long have you been unemployed? If you have a spouse or a partner, how long have they been working for their current employer or how long have they been unemployed? 2. Have you or a family member (or any other person close to you) ever been

discriminated against or harassed at work or at school on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, disability, age, religion or sexual orientation? What happened? Was a case, claim, charge, or investigation begun? What was the result?

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3.

If you answered yes to the previous question, was the person who initiated the

case, claim, charge, or investigation treated adversely as a result, in other words, were they retaliated against by the employer? What happened? 4. If an employee files a claim of discrimination against his employer, do you think

that this means the employer probably did, in fact, discriminate against the employee? 5. In general, do you think that African- American workers are treated unfairly by

their employers as compared to the way other workers are treated? Why? 6. Have you, any member of your family, or a close friend ever (1) been treated

unfairly on the job, or (2) been fired or threatened with firing, demoted, disciplined, or laid off from a job? What happened? How did this affect how you think employees should be treated by employers in general? 7. Do you, a member of your family or a person close to you know the plaintiff in this case: Marshall Chambers? 8. Are you personally acquainted with any members of the Plaintiff's family,

personal friends, or associates? 9. Do you, a member of your family or a person close to you know the plaintiff's lawyer in this case: Caleb M. Pilgrim? 10. Do you, a member of your family, or a person close to you know the Defendant's

attorney in this case: Assistant United States Attorney Lauren M. Nash? 11. The following people, in addition to Lauren M. Nash, are lawyers in the United

States Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut. Please let me know if you know any one of these individuals professionally or socially. 2

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Kevin J. O'Connor (United States Attorney) Robert M. Appleton Ronald S. Apter Jonathan Biran Leonard C. Boyle William M. Brown, Jr. Mark G. Califano Patrick F. Caruso Shawn J. Chen Peter A. Clark William A. Collier Thomas V. Daily John A. Danaher III Nora R. Dannehy Kari A. Dooley John H. Durham Anastasia M. Enos James K. Filan, Jr. James J. Finnerty James G. Genco James I. Glasser Eric J. Glover Brenda M. Green Michael J. Gustafson H. Gordon Hall Alex V. Hernandez John B. Hughes Carolyn A. Ikari Peter S. Jongbloed Maria A. Kahn Anthony E. Kaplan Keith A. King Henry Kopel Calvin B. Kurimai Brian Leaming Peter D. Markle John A. Marella Michael McGarry Alina P. Marquez Jeffrey A. Meyer Raymond F. Miller Richard M. Molot Douglas P. Morabito 3

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William J. Nardini Ann M. Nevins Krishna R. Patel Karen L. Peck Lisa E. Perkins Stephen B. Reynolds David A. Ring Mark D. Rubino Michael E. Runowicz Christine L. Sciarrino Christopher W. Schmeisser David J. Sheldon Deborah R. Slater Alan M. Soloway Brian Spears Robert M. Spector David X. Sullivan Julie G. Turbert David Vatti 12. Do any of you, your relatives, or friends know any of the following people who

may be called as witnesses in the trial: Neil Falkner Beverly Hogle Jeffrey Lustman, M.D. Bernadette Oulton Diane Lawrie Patricia Brady Marshall Chambers, Gerald Dolloff Richard Daniels Kelvin Brown Carl Lister Phil Moschitta Paul Mulinsky Mark Bain Deneen Askew

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Kim Chapman Edgar Colon Margaret Veazey 13. Have you or any member of your immediate family ever belonged to a labor union

or labor organization? If so, when and for how long? Were you or they ever an officer, leader, or steward in the union? 14. Have you or anyone in your family (or anyone close to you) ever been employed

by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs? Who and when? What job? How did that employment end? 15. Have you or anyone in your family ever been employed by the United States

government or any of its agencies? Who and when? What job? How did that employment end? 16. Have you or anyone in your family ever been involved in any case, contested

claim, dispute, or prosecution with (1) the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, (2) the United States Attorney's Office or the Department of Justice, or (3) the United States government (also called the federal government) or any federal government agencies? What is or was that dispute? When was it? What was the result? 17. Have you, any member of your family, or a close friend ever felt that he or she had been mistreated or wronged by the United States Government or any of its agencies? Who? How was he or she mistreated or wronged? 18. Do you think that the United States government tends to treat African- Americans

unfairly? Why?

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19.

Have you or any member of your family ever been involved in a lawsuit, either as

a party or a witness? What was it? Was it an employment dispute? When? What was the result? Did you agree with the result? 20. Have you had any prior jury service? If so, what did the case involve? Was it an

employment dispute? When and where was this trial? What was the result? Is there anything about your previous jury service that would affect your jury service in this case? 21. At the end of the presentation of the evidence, the judge will instruct you on the

rules of law to apply in this case. Do you understand that even if you disagree with the instructions, you must apply them? 22. During the course of this trial, counsel may make objections. When objections are

made, information may be excluded from your consideration. Can you promise not to guess or speculate on what you were not permitted to hear or see? If the judge directs you to disregard an item of evidence, will you be able to put it out of your mind and promise not to consider it in your deliberations? 23. If you have refused to respond to any of the preceding questions because you did not wish to answer in open court, please indicate so at the end of the questioning and you will have an opportunity to discuss your concerns with the judge in private. 24. Is there any reason at all, however private or personal, which makes you feel that

you should not serve or would not like to serve on the jury for this case? If so, please indicate this so that you can explain your concern to the judge and the lawyers privately.

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Respectfully submitted, KEVIN J. O'CONNOR UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

________________________ LAUREN M. NASH ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY 157 CHURCH ST. NEW HAVEN, CT 06510 (203) 821-3700 FEDERAL BAR # ct01705

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE This is to certify that a copy of the within and foregoing Defendant's Proposed Voir Dire Questions has been mailed, postage prepaid, on this 5th day of March, 2004, to:

Caleb M. Pilgrim, Esq. Law Offices of Caleb M. Pilgrim, LLC 1404 Whalley Avenue, 2nd Floor New Haven, CT 06515

LAUREN M. NASH ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY 157 CHURCH ST. NEW HAVEN, CT 06510 (203) 821-3700 FEDERAL BAR # ct01705

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