Rule 632. Juror Information Questionnaire.
(A) Prior to voir dire:
(1) Each prospective juror shall complete and verify the standard, confidential juror information questionnaire required by paragraph (H) of this rule, and any supplemental questionnaire provided by the court.
(2) The president judge shall designate the method for distributing and maintaining the juror information questionnaires.
(3) The trial judge and the attorneys shall receive copies of the completed questionnaires for use during voir dire, and the attorneys shall be given a reasonable opportunity to examine the questionnaires.
(B) The information provided by the jurors on the questionnaires shall be confidential and limited to use for the purpose of jury selection only. Except for disclosures made during voir dire, or unless the trial judge otherwise orders pursuant to paragraph (F), this information shall only be made available to the trial judge, the defendant(s) and the attorney(s) for the defendant(s), and the attorney for the Commonwealth.
(C) The original and any copies of the juror information questionnaires shall not constitute a public record.
(D) Juror information questionnaires shall be used in conjunction with the examination of the prospective jurors conducted by the judge or counsel pursuant to Rule 631(E).
(E) If the court adjourns before voir dire is completed, the trial judge may order that the attorneys be permitted to retain their copies of the questionnaires during the adjournment. When copies of the questionnaires are permitted to be taken from the courtroom, the copies:
(1) shall continue to be subject to the confidentiality requirements of this rule, and to the disclosure requirements of paragraph (B); and
(2) shall not be duplicated, distributed, or published.
The trial judge may make such other order to protect the copies as is appropriate.
(F) The original questionnaires of all impaneled jurors shall be retained in a sealed file and shall be destroyed upon completion of the jurors’ service, unless otherwise ordered by the trial judge. Upon completion of voir dire, all copies of the questionnaires shall be returned to the trial judge and destroyed, unless otherwise ordered by the trial judge at the request of the defendant(s), the attorney(s) for the defendant(s), or the attorney for the Commonwealth.
(G) The original and any copies of questionnaires of all prospective jurors not impaneled or not selected for any trial shall be destroyed upon completion of the jurors’ service.
(H) The form of the juror information questionnaire shall be as follows:
JUROR INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRE
CONFIDENTIAL; NOT PUBLIC RECORD
NAME: LAST FIRST MIDDLE INITIAL CITY/TOWNSHIP COMMUNITIES IN WHICH YOU RESIDED OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS: MARITAL STATUS: MARRIED SINGLE SEPARATED DIVORCED WIDOWED OCCUPATION OCCUPATION(S) PAST 10 YEARS OCCUPATION OF SPOUSE/ OTHER PAST 10 YEARS OCCUPATION OF SPOUSE/OTHER NUMBER OF CHILDREN RACE: WHITE
LEVEL OF EDUCATION YOURS SPOUSE/OTHER CHILDREN
YES NO 1. Have you ever served as a juror before? If so, were you ever on a hung jury? 2. Do you have any religious, moral, or ethical beliefs that would prevent you from sitting in judgment in a criminal case and rendering a fair verdict? 3. Do you have any physical or psychological disability that might interfere with or prevent you from serving as a juror? 4. Have you or anyone close to you ever been the victim of a crime? 5. Have you or anyone close to you ever been charged with or arrested for a crime, other than a traffic violation? 6. Have you or anyone close to you ever been an eyewitness to a crime, whether or not it ever came to court? 7. Have you or anyone close to you ever worked in law enforcement or the justice system? This includes police, prosecutors, attorneys, detectives, security or prison guards, and court related agencies. 8. Would you be more likely to believe the testimony of a police officer or any other law enforcement officer because of his or her job? 9. Would you be less likely to believe the testimony of a police officer or other law enforcement officer because of his or her job? 10. Would you have any problem following the court’s instruction that the defendant in a criminal case is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? 11. Would you have any problem following the court’s instruction that the defendant in a criminal case does not have to take the stand or present evidence, and it cannot be held against the defendant if he or she elects to remain silent or present no evidence? 12. Would you have any problem following the court’s instruction in a criminal case that just because someone is arrested, it does not mean that the person is guilty of anything? 13. In general, would you have any problem following and applying the judge’s instruction on the law? 14. Would you have any problem during jury deliberations in a criminal case discussing the case fully but still making up your own mind? 15. Are you presently taking any medication that might interfere with or prevent you from serving as a juror? 16. Is there any other reason you could not be a fair juror in a criminal case?
I hereby certify that the answers on this form are true and correct. I understand that false answers provided herein subject me to penalties under 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. SIGNATURE
DATE
Comment This rule requires that, prior to voir dire in any criminal case, the prospective jurors, including prospective alternate jurors, must complete the standard, confidential juror information questionnaire required in paragraph (H), and that the trial judge and attorneys must automatically be given copies of the completed questionnaires in time to examine them before voir dire begins. Compare Rule 625, which provides that attorneys must request copies of juror qualification forms for the jurors summoned in their case.
Under paragraph (A)(2), it is intended that the president judge of each judicial district may designate procedures for submitting the questionnaire to the jurors and maintaining them upon completion. For example, some districts may choose to mail them along with their jury qualification form, while others may desire to have the questionnaire completed by the panel of prospective jurors when they report for jury service. This rule, however, mandates that the questionnaires be completed by each prospective juror to a criminal case.
Each judicial district must provide the jurors with instructions for completing the form, and inform them of the procedures for maintaining confidentiality of the questionnaires. It is expected that each judicial district will inform the jurors that the questionnaires will only be used for jury selection.
Pursuant to paragraph (C), the juror information questionnaire is not a public record and therefore may not be combined in one form with the qualification questionnaire required by Rule 625. However, nothing in this rule would prohibit the distribution of both questionnaires in the same mailing.
Under paragraph (B), the information provided by the jurors is confidential and may be used only for the purpose of jury selection. Except for disclosures made during voir dire, the information in the completed questionnaires may not be disclosed to anyone except the trial judge, the attorneys and any persons assisting the attorneys in jury selection, such as a member of the trial team or a consultant hired to assist in jury selection, the defendant, and any court personnel designated by the judge. Even once disclosed to such persons, however, the information in the questionnaires remains confidential.
Although the defendant may participate in voir dire and have access to information from the questionnaire, nothing in this rule is intended to allow a defendant to have a copy of the questionnaire.
Paragraph (D) makes it clear that juror information questionnaires are to be used in conjunction with the oral examination of the prospective jurors, and are not to be used as a substitute for the oral examination. Juror information questionnaires facilitate and expedite the voir dire examination by providing the trial judge and attorneys with basic background information about the jurors, thereby eliminating the need for many commonly asked questions. Although nothing in this rule is intended to preclude oral questioning during voir dire, the scope of voir dire is within the discretion of the trial judge. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. McGrew, 100 A.2d 467 (Pa. 1953) and Rule 631(E).
Paragraph (E) provides, upon order of the trial judge, that only attorneys in the case, subject to strict limitations imposed by the court, may retain their copies of the juror information questionnaires during adjournment.
Paragraph (F) provides the procedures for the collection and disposition of the original completed questionnaires and copies for impaneled jurors. Once voir dire is concluded, all copies of the completed questionnaires are returned to the official designated by the president judge pursuant to paragraph (A)(2), and destroyed promptly. The original completed questionnaires of the impaneled jury must be retained in a sealed file in the manner prescribed pursuant to paragraph (A)(2), and destroyed upon the conclusion of the juror’s service, unless the trial judge orders otherwise. Because the information in the questionnaires is confidential, the trial judge should only order retention of the original questionnaires under unusual circumstances. Such a circumstance would arise, for example, if the questionnaires were placed at issue for post-verdict review. In that event, the judge would order the preservation of the questionnaires in order to make them part of the appellate record.
Under paragraph (G), the original and any copies of the questionnaires of those jurors not impaneled and not selected for any jury must be destroyed without exception upon completion of their service.
There may be situations in which the attorneys and judge would want to prepare an individualized questionnaire for a particular case. In this situation, a supplemental questionnaire would be used together with the standard juror information questionnaire, and the disclosure and retention provisions in paragraphs (B) and (F) would apply. See paragraph (A)(1).
Official Note
Former Rule 1107 rescinded September 28, 1975. Present Rule 1107 adopted September 15, 1993, effective January 1, 1994; suspended December 17, 1993 until further Order of the Court; the September 15, 1993 Order is superseded by the September 18, 1998 Order, and present Rule 1107 adopted September 18, 1998, effective July 1, 1999; renumbered Rule 632 and amended March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001; amended May 2, 2005, effective August 1, 2005; amended July 7, 2015, effective October 1, 2015.
Committee Explanatory Reports:
Final Report explaining the September 18, 1998 adoption of new Rule 1107 concerning juror information questionnaires published with the Court’s Order at 29 Pa.B. 4887 (October 3, 1999).
Final Report explaining the March 1, 2000 reorganization and renumbering of the rules published with the Court’s Order at 30 Pa.B. 1478 (March 18, 2000).
Final Report explaining the May 2, 2005 amendments to the mandatory juror information questionnaire form published at 35 Pa.B. 2870 (May 14, 2005).
Final Report explaining the July 7, 2015 amendments correcting cross-references to Rules 625 and 631 published with the Court’s Order at 45 Pa.B. 3985 (July 25, 2015).
Source The provisions of this Rule 632 amended May 2, 2005, effective August 1, 2005, 35 Pa.B. 2868; amended July 7, 2015, effective October 1, 2015, 45 Pa.B. 3980. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (264319) to (264320) and (311407) to (311410).
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