Legal Definitions - impanel

To impanel, also known as empanel, is the legal process of selecting and formally assigning a jury to serve in a specific case. This involves choosing individuals from a pool of potential jurors and swearing them in to hear the evidence and render a verdict.

Impanel

To impanel refers to the formal process of selecting and assigning a group of citizens to serve as a jury for a specific legal trial. This comprehensive procedure typically involves gathering a pool of potential jurors, questioning them to assess their impartiality and suitability, allowing attorneys to challenge and remove unsuitable candidates, and finally, formally swearing in the chosen individuals who will hear the evidence and render a verdict.

Examples:

• For a high-profile murder trial, the judge, prosecution, and defense attorneys spent several days interviewing a large group of potential jurors. They asked questions about their backgrounds, opinions, and ability to remain unbiased. After careful consideration and using their allotted challenges, twelve individuals and two alternates were finally selected and formally sworn in. This entire selection and assignment process is what it means to impanel the jury for that case.

• In a complex civil lawsuit concerning a major corporate fraud, the legal teams for both the plaintiffs and the defendant worked to impanel a jury. They sought individuals who could understand intricate financial details and decide the case fairly. After a thorough selection process, including questioning and challenges, the chosen jurors were officially assigned to hear the evidence and determine liability.

• During a personal injury trial stemming from a car accident, the court needed to impanel a jury to decide if the defendant was negligent and what damages, if any, should be awarded. The judge oversaw the selection of citizens from the community, ensuring that those chosen were capable of listening to testimony about the accident and medical reports without prejudice, before they were formally seated to begin the trial.