Bank Fraud · Trial Preparation
How Should Counsel Conduct Voir Dire in a Federal Bank Fraud Trial?
Jury selection should surface fixed assumptions about borrowers, lenders, financial records, and the presumption of innocence while following the trial judge’s procedures.
Eligible to Practice in Texas
Attorney at Law
Bar Card Number: 00796807
TX License Date: 11/01/1996
214 Connally St Ste A
Sulphur Spgs, TX 75482-2612
Explore the Federal Bank Fraud Knowledge Hub
Direct answer: Voir dire should identify jurors who cannot fairly apply the presumption of innocence or assess bank and borrower witnesses without fixed assumptions. It should prepare the jury to evaluate specific records, intent and bank property without trying to win the case before evidence begins. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 24 and the judge’s trial procedures control examination and challenges.
Start with the court’s voir dire procedure
A juror may hear “default” and assume the borrower lied. Another may blame the lender for making a poor loan. Ask enough about those views to learn whether the juror can set them aside and apply § 1344. Neither view establishes what happened in the charged transaction.
Large dollar amounts and polished spreadsheets can also influence a juror before the records have been tested. What would the juror want to know before drawing a conclusion about intent? Could the juror compare an investigator’s account with the source documents, or consider why two financial experts disagree? Include the indictment in this discussion: it is an accusation, not evidence.
Explore assumptions without asking for promises
Start with what the juror has experienced. For example, a juror who lost a home after foreclosure may have much more to say about lenders than a yes-or-no question will reveal. Ask what happened and how it might affect the juror’s view of the witnesses. A juror who works for a bank may have assumptions worth exploring as well.
The proposed questions need the judge’s approval where required. Some possibilities: could a signed form contain a mistake the signer did not know about? Could a bank employee be mistaken? Does repayment necessarily mean there was no knowing deception when the money was obtained? These questions explore assumptions. They should not ask for a promised verdict or present the disputed facts of this case as true. Check, too, whether the jurors can follow separate instructions for the two clauses of § 1344.
Use answers to identify cause issues and preserve fairness
Do not stop at “probably” or “I think so.” If an answer leaves doubt about a juror’s ability to apply the law, ask what the doubt is and make a record of the response. The cause challenge must address that inability, not merely a view counsel dislikes. Peremptory challenges have constitutional limits too.
Who will actually ask the questions? Rule 24 allows the judge to examine prospective jurors or permit the attorneys to do it. When the judge conducts the examination, attorneys must be allowed either to ask further questions the court considers proper or to submit such questions for the court to ask. Read the local rules and trial order for the procedure in this case, including time limits and any written questionnaire. That information belongs at the start of preparation.
Primary legal sources
- Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, including Rule 24.
- 28 U.S.C. § 1862 (federal-jury service discrimination provision).
- Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986).
To discuss representation, contact Heath Hyde or call 903-439-0000. Representation begins only if the firm agrees to take the matter.
