Free Proposed Voir Dire - District Court of Colorado - Colorado

Case 1:04-cv-01009-EWN-MEH

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Civil Action No. 04-cv-1009-EWN-MEH MARIAN J. BARCIKOWSKI, v. SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC., a Delaware corporation, Defendant. ______________________________________________________________________________ PLAINTIFF'S PROPOSED VOIR DIRE QUESTIONS ______________________________________________________________________________ COMES NOW the Plaintiff, by and through his attorneys, Roseman & Kazmierski, LLC, and respectfully submits the following proposed voir dire questions herein: 1. Do you read a newspaper on a regular basis? If so, what newspaper(s) do you read? Plaintiff,

How often do you read each newspaper? 2. Do you read any magazines on a regular basis? If so, what magazine(s) do you read?

How often do you read each magazine? 3. 4. 5. What are your favorite television programs? What are your five favorite movies? What are your five least favorite movies? Do you have any bumper stickers on your car? If so, what are they? Does your

spouse have any bumper stickers on his or her car? If so, what are they? 6. Do you belong to any organizations? If so, what organizations do you belong to?

Does your spouse belong to any organizations? If so, what are they? 7. Do you have any hobbies or other non-job-related activities outside the home? If

so, what are they? 8. Please think about this question for a few minutes. What would you say is the most

unique thing about yourself? 9. Please state the name of your present employer. If your spouse is employed outside

the home, please state the name of your spouse's employer. 10. Please describe your current job duties. If your spouse is employed outside the

home, please describe your spouse's job duties, to the extent that you are familiar with them.

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11.

Have you ever been a supervisor?

If so, please describe when you were a

supervisor and the nature of your supervisory job duties. 12. Have you ever had people working for you? If so, please state when that occurred

and the circumstances surrounding it. 13. Have you ever supervised employees with health problems? If so, how did you feel

about that experience? 14. Have you ever participated in any decision to terminate the employment of any If so, did any issue arise in

employee or to reduce the size of your employer's workforce? leave? 15.

connection with that decision about any employee's use or attempted use of Family and Medical Act

Have you ever worked in the fields of labor relations, industrial relations, personnel,

or human resources? If so, please state when and describe the circumstances. 16. Have you ever taken any courses in law, personnel management, labor relations, or

any similar subject? If so, please state when and what courses you took and describe the courses. 17. Has your spouse ever been a supervisor, ever had people work for him or her, or

ever worked in the fields of labor relations, industrial relations, personnel, or human resources? If so, please state when and describe the circumstances. 18. Have you ever had the power to discharge or discipline any employee? To

recommend discipline or discharge? If so, please state the dates and describe the circumstances. 19. Have you ever been denied a promotion, or been fired or laid off? If so, please

state the date and describe the circumstances. How did you feel about the experience? Did you file a grievance or in some other way protest company's decision? If so, how did you do so, and why did you feel that the company's decision was wrong? If not, why not? Did you suffer mental stress as a result of your experience of being not promoted or being fired or laid off? If so, please describe the stress you suffered. 20. Has your spouse, any close relative, or any friend ever been not promoted, fired or

laid off? If this happened to your spouse, please state when this happened and describe the circumstances. If the layoff or firing happened to a friend or close relative, did you ever discuss your

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relative's or friend's non-promotion or job termination with him or her? How do you feel about what happened to that person's non-promotion, layoff or firing? 21. Have you ever been forced out of a job by your employer? Has your spouse, a

close relative, or a friend ever been forced out of a job by his or her employer? If you answer to either of these questions is yes, please state when this happened and describe the circumstances. How do you feel that experience? If it happened to you, did you file a grievance or in some other way protest your employer's actions? If so, please state how you protested and the results of your efforts. If you did not, why not? 22. Have you ever felt, or have you ever learned, that a current or former employer of

yours gave you a bad job reference? Do you know anyone else this has happened to? How do you feel about your experience or the experience of that other person? Did you do anything about this situation, if it happened to you, or did the other person do anything about it, if it happened to him or her? What were the results? 23. Do you know any of the attorneys in this case or any of the persons who will be

sitting at counsel table with them? Do you know Barry Roseman or Stefan Kazmierski? Do you know Steve Merker, Steve Hall or any of the other attorneys in the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney? 24. I will read you the names of the people listed as witnesses in this case. Do you

know any of those people? 25. Have any of you ever worked for Sun Microsystems, whether on a permanent, part-

time or permanent basis? If so, when? Under what circumstances did you cease your employment with that department or the state or city? Do you know anyone who has ever worked for Sun Microsystems? If so, whom? Did that person ever discuss his or her employment with you? If so, what did that person say about working for that company? 26. Have you ever belonged to a labor union? If so, which one(s)? How long did you

serve as a member? If you are no longer a member, why did you cease being a union member? Did you ever hold union office, work for the union, serve on any committees, or otherwise participate in the internal affairs of the union?

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27.

Did either of your parents ever belong to a labor union? If so, which one(s)? How

long did he or she belong to that labor union? Did he or she hold any union office, work for the union, or participate in any of the internal affairs of the union? 28. How do you feel about people who file lawsuits against their employers? How do

you feel about people who claim a violation of their rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act? 29. Do you, or does your employer, contract with Sun Microsystems for the purchase or

sale of goods or services? If so, please describe that contractual relationship. What contracts, if any, do you have with the Sun Microsystems as a result? 30. Have you ever been part of a group that signed a petition or letter protesting

working conditions or criticizing your superior? Has your spouse, any close relative, or any friend ever done so, to your knowledge? If so, how do you feel that experience? 31. Have any of you been accused of misconduct by an employer? If so, please explain

the details. If your answer is yes, did the employer give you the opportunity to provide your side of the story or offer evidence refuting the claim of misconduct against you? 32. Have you or any member of your immediate family ever filed a lawsuit? If so, please

describe that lawsuit. 33. Have you or any member of your immediate family ever been named as a defendant

in a lawsuit? If so, please describe the lawsuit. 34. circumstances. 35. Have you ever protested a written job appraisal or job evaluation, a promotion Have you or any member of your immediate family ever filed a grievance or any If so, please state the date and describe the

appeal of an adverse employment decision?

decision, a reassignment decision, a layoff decision, a decision to impose disciplinary action on an employee, or anything else in connection with your employment? If so, how do you feel about that experience? 36. Have you ever prepared a job appraisal or evaluation of another employee? If so,

was your decision challenged? If so, how do you feel about being challenged?

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37.

Have you, a spouse, or a close relative ever been a party to an unemployment

compensation proceeding where there was a question about whether the termination had been for just cause? If so, please describe the experience. How do you feel about that experience? 38. Do you believe that it is wrong to restrict an employer's or supervisor's ability to

discharge employees? 39. Have you ever owned your own business or been self-employed? If so, please state

when and describe the circumstances. Have you decided to reduce the size of your workforce? If so, did any issue arise in connection with that decision about any employee's use or attempted use of Family and Medical Act leave? 40. Some people feel that too many people are filing lawsuits in this country and that

some lawsuits are frivolous. How do you feel on this issue? Do you feel that too many people are filing discrimination lawsuits? What kind of evidence do you believe that a plaintiff, such as Marian J. Barcikowski, needs to present in order to convince you that the defendant probably had interfered with his rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act? How strong would that evidence have to be? 41. How do you feel about the fact that the Family and Medical Leave Act prohibits an

employer from interfering with an employee's right to leave under that statute? Do you believe that that law is a good idea or a bad idea? Do you favor changing that law in any way? If so, what changes would you like to see made? 42. Does any member of your immediate family have a health problem that would

impair your ability to concentrate fully on the testimony in this case? 43. Have you or a member of your family ever felt that you were the victim of retaliation

or discrimination of any kind? Have you or a member of your family ever filed a charge of retaliation or discrimination with any government agency? If so, please state when and describe the circumstances. 44. Has your spouse, or any close relative, or any friend ever felt that he or she was a

victim of retaliation or discrimination of any kind? Has any of these persons ever filed a charge of retaliation or discrimination with any government agency? If this involved your spouse, please state

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when this happened and describe the circumstances. If it involved a relative or friend, did you ever discuss the situation with him or her? How did you feel about what happened? 45. Have you ever been accused of retaliating or discriminating against an employee? If

so, how do you feel about that experience? Has your spouse, any close relative, or any friend ever been accused of retaliating or discriminating against an employee? How do you feel about that experience? Was any charge or complaint of employment discrimination, or any lawsuit, filed in connection with that situation? If so, how do you feel about the accusations that were made against you, your spouse, your relative or your friend? 46. 47. Have you ever served on a jury before? Was that in a civil or a criminal case? If you have served as a juror in a criminal case, what was the defendant charged

with? Did the jury reach a verdict? If so, what was that verdict? 48. If you have served as a juror in a civil case, what type of case was it? Did the jury

reach a verdict? If so, what was that verdict? 49. Do you understand that in a civil case, a plaintiff only has the burden of proving his

or her case by a preponderance of the evidence? Do you understand that a plaintiff in a civil case does not need to prove his or her case beyond a reasonable doubt, as is true in a criminal case? 50. Do you understand that a defendant has the burden or proving any affirmative

defense by a preponderance of the evidence? Do you understand that a defendant in a civil case does not need to prove an affirmative defense beyond a reasonable doubt? How do you feel about requiring a defendant to prove an affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence? 51. not? 52. Is there anything about the nature of this case that would cause you to prefer not to Are you looking forward to sitting as a juror in this case? If so, why? If not, why

serve on this jury? If so, please explain. 53. Would you want a juror in your present frame of mind to sit on a jury deciding this

case if you were the plaintiff? If so, why? 54. Do you have any problem serving on a jury? Is there anything about the

responsibility of sitting in judgment on another person's lawsuit that bothers you in any way? If so, please describe how you feel about this.

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55.

Can you base your decision solely upon on the evidence and law, and not upon your

sympathy or personal dislike for any of the parties, or witnesses, or lawyers? 56. Do you know of any reason why you cannot or might not give any of the parties in

this case a fair trial? 57. Are you taking any medication that would impair your ability to concentrate on the

testimony, the arguments of the attorneys, and the court's instructions? 58. Do you have any health problem that would impair your ability to give this case your

complete attention? Respectfully submitted, ROSEMAN & KAZMIERSKI, LLC s/Barry D. Roseman BARRY D. ROSEMAN 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 1607 Denver, Colorado 80203 303/839-1771 Attorneys for Plaintiff CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE The undersigned hereby certifies that, on the sixth day of April 2006, a true and correct copy of the above and foregoing Plaintiff's Proposed Voir Dire Questions was sent via CM/ECF electronic filing, addressed to the following party: Steven J. Merker, Esq. R. Stephen Hall, Esq. DORSEY & WHITNEY LLP 370 17th Street, Suite 4700 Denver, Colorado 80202-5647

s/Karin C. Bailey Karin C. Bailey