Free Proposed Voir Dire - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

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MARY JO O'NEILL, AZ Bar No. 005924 SALLY C. SHANLEY, AZ Bar No. 012251 KATHERINE J. KRUSE, AZ Bar No. 019167 MICHELLE G. MARSHALL, AZ Bar No. 017358 VALERIE L. MEYER, CA Bar No. 228586 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Phoenix District Office 3300 North Central Avenue, Suite 690 Phoenix, Arizona 85012 Telephone: (602) 640-5029 e-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Attorneys for Plaintiff J. MARK OGDEN, AZ Bar No. 017018 J. GREG COULTER, AZ Bar No. 016890 KRISTIN R. CULBERTSON, AZ Bar No. 20801 LITTLER MENDELSON A Professional Corporation Camelback Esplanade 2425 E. Camelback Rd., Suite 900 Phoenix, Arizona 85016-4242 Telephone: 602.474.3600 e-mail: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Attorneys for Defendants

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Plaintiff, vs. Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) CIV 04-0627-PHX-JAT JOINT PROPOSED VOIR DIRE

Pursuant to the Court's order, Plaintiff, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Defendant, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, submit the following proposed voir dire.

Case 2:04-cv-00627-JAT

Document 119

Filed 06/26/2006

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JOINT STIPULATED VOIR DIRE QUESTIONS

Has anyone on the jury panel ever been employed by any of the following entities: Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, CIGNA Corporation, any CIGNA subsidiary, or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission?

Is there anyone on the jury panel who has a close friend or family member who was previously or is currently employed by Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, CIGNA Corporation, any CIGNA subsidiary, or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission?

Is there anyone on the jury panel who owns stock or has any other financial interest in, or has a close friend or family member who owns stock or has any other financial interest in, CIGNA Corporation?

Is there anyone on the jury panel who is currently insured, or whose close friend or family member is insured, by Connecticut General Life Insurance Company or CIGNA?

Is there any member of the jury panel who knows any of the parties involved in this case, or their attorneys or family members?

[After the witness lists of all parties] Is there any member of the jury panel who knows any of the witnesses who might be called in this case?

[After the statement of the case] Is there any member of the jury panel who has personal knowledge of this case?

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8.

Is there any member of the jury panel who has heard or read any news articles or anything else about this dispute?

9.

Is there any member of the jury panel who has been involved in litigation? If so, what was the nature of the case? In what role did you act? How did it end? Were you satisfied with the process?

10.

Is there any member of the jury panel with a close family member or friend who has been involved in litigation? If so, what was the nature of the case? In what role did he or she act? How did it end? Was he or she satisfied with the process?

11.

Is there any member of the jury panel who has previously served on a jury? If so, what type of case was it? Did you reach a verdict? What was it?

12.

Is there any member of the jury panel who has had any education, training, or work experience in human resources or a similar field, or has a family member or close friend who has had any education, training, or work experience in human resources or a similar field? If so, in what capacity?

13.

Is there any member of the jury panel who owns or has owned his or her own business, or has a family member or close friend who owns or has owned his or her own business? Has anyone ever claimed that that business discriminated against them? What happened? How did you feel about it?

14.

Has any member of the jury panel ever claimed a company discriminated against them? What happened?

15.

Is there any member of the jury panel who has ever had a legal dispute with an employer or employee, or has a close friend or family member who has ever had a
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legal dispute with an employer or employee? If so, what was the nature of the dispute? Were you satisfied by how it was resolved?

Is there any member of the jury panel who has witnessed or personally experienced, or who has a close friend or family member who has witnessed or personally experienced, discrimination or unfair treatment based on race, religion, national origin, age, disability, or sex, including pregnancy? If so, what was the nature of the discrimination or unfair treatment? Was it addressed? Were you satisfied by how it was addressed?

Is there any member of the jury panel who has been accused, or who has had a close friend or family member accused, of discriminating against or treating someone unfairly based on his or her race, religion, national origin, age, disability, or sex, including pregnancy? If so, what was the nature of the discrimination or unfair treatment? Was it addressed? Were you satisfied by how it was addressed?

Is there any member of the jury panel who has ever filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or any similar state agency? What was the outcome? Were you satisfied?

Is there any member of the jury panel who has ever been involved in any capacity in any proceeding of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or any similar state agency? If so, in what way were you involved? How would you describe the experience?

Is there anyone on the jury panel who would give more or less weight to the testimony of the EEOC's witnesses because the EEOC is the Plaintiff in this case?

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21.

For those members of the jury panel who own or have owned their own business or who have a close friend or family member who owns or has owned their own business, has anyone ever filed a lawsuit against that business? What happened? How did you feel about it?

22.

Has any member of the jury panel ever been involved in the recruiting, hiring, termination, promoting, or demoting of anyone?

23.

Is there any member of the jury panel who has ever had the responsibility of establishing rules or policies concerning sex discrimination, including pregnancy discrimination?

24.

Has any member of the jury panel ever been pregnant while working, or had a close friend or family member who was pregnant while working?

25.

Has any member of the jury panel, or their family members or close friends, been treated differently at work because of a pregnancy? Please explain.

26.

Does any member of the jury panel believe that women should not work or apply for work while pregnant?

27.

Has any member of the jury panel sought employment while pregnant, or had a family member or close friend seek employment or apply for work while pregnant? Was that individual able to obtain employment while pregnant?

28.

Does any member of the jury panel believe that pregnant employees tend to perform poorly at work compared to non-pregnant employees?

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29.

Does any member of the jury panel believe that pregnant employees tend to have a higher rate of absenteeism than non-pregnant employees?

30.

Has any member of the jury panel ever felt that their work was negatively impacted by a pregnant worker?

31.

Does any member of the jury panel believe that pregnant women are treated unfairly, either by society in general or by business in general?

32.

Does any member of the jury panel believe that pregnant women are treated preferentially, either by society in general or by business in general?

33.

Is there any member of the jury panel who feels negatively about federal laws that allow the EEOC to investigate claims of employment discrimination and bring lawsuits against employers?

34.

Is there any member of the jury panel who feels negatively about federal laws that allow individuals to bring workplace discrimination lawsuits?

35.

Do you believe it is possible to be injured by workplace discrimination, such that monetary damages are appropriate?

36.

Is there any member of the jury panel whose beliefs make it impossible for him or her to award monetary damages?

37.

Is there any member of the jury panel who has a monetary figure in mind as the limit he or she would award no matter what the evidence demonstrates?

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38.

During jury deliberations, if one of your fellow jurors shows that he or she is prejudiced against one of the parties to this suit, or is unwilling to follow the law or the instructions given to you by the judge, will you be able to carry out your juror oath by speaking out and making sure the verdict is not tainted by this juror's actions?

39.

You are the best judges of your own ideas and emotions. Knowing what you know about yourselves, if you were either party in this lawsuit, would you be satisfied with having a person such as yourself act as a juror in this case?

EEOC'S PROPOSED VOIR DIRE QUESTIONS

1.

Has any member of the jury panel ever had an employer revoke or withdraw an offer of employment? Objection: Defendant objects to the term "revoke." Throughout this litigation the parties have phrased the issue as whether or not the offer of employment was "withdrawn." Reference to the term "revoke" is unnecessary and prejudicial.

2.

Has any member of the jury panel ever quit or resigned from an employer due to their belief that the employer was engaged in unethical or illegal practices of any kind? Objection: The information sought by this question is irrelevant and prejudicial. Presumably, the EEOC intends to argue that Ms. Santa Cruz's resignation from Security Trust was because she believed the company was engaged in illegal conduct and, therefore, does not adversely impact the EEOC's claim that Ms. Santa Cruz mitigated her damages. This inquiry, however, is irrelevant and prejudicial. The issue of back pay and, therefore, mitigation of back pay is an issue for the court, not the jury. Therefore, the answers to this question is irrelevant.
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Moreover, for the Court to inquire about resignation because of unethical conduct, without any testimony on back pay and mitigation, may incorrectly imply that CGLIC engaged in unethical behavior.

Does any member of the jury panel regularly read the Wall Street Journal? Objection: This general question, related to a single publication, does not seek any information that will provide any relevant background information.

DEFENDANT'S PROPOSED VOIR DIRE QUESTIONS

Is there anyone on the jury panel who believes that just because the EEOC sued Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, they must have done something wrong? Objection: This is not a neutral question designed to elicit relevant background information RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 26th day of June, 2006.

MARY JO O'NEILL Regional Attorney SALLY C. SHANLEY Supervisory Trial Attorney s/Katherine J. Kruse KATHERINE J. KRUSE MICHELLE G. MARSHALL VALERIE L. MEYER Trial Attorneys EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION Phoenix District Office 3300 North Central Ave., Suite 690 Phoenix, Arizona 85012-2504 Attorneys for Plaintiff s/ Kristin R. Culbertson (approved via email 6-26-06 ) J. MARK OGDEN J. GREG COULTER KRISTIN R. CULBERTSON LITTLER MENDELSON Camelback Esplanade Suite 900 2425 E. Camelback Rd. Phoenix, Arizona 85016-4242 Attorneys for Defendants

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