An initial step is that the court must empanel or sit a jury. In most locales, juries are composed of 12 members. But, the 12 must be selected from a much larger body of persons. Collectively, all prospective jurors comprise the jury pool.

The process of selecting a jury is known as voir dire. Attorneys ask questions of prospective jurors to determine if they have certain biases or outlooks that would be beneficial or detrimental to their client’s case.