Introducing Whisper Mode

The hardest moment in jury selection is not deciding whom to strike. It is the ten seconds after a juror says something interesting, when you have to decide whether to follow up, what to ask, and whether it changes anything, while the judge is waiting and eleven other jurors are watching you think.

A good second chair earns their seat in those ten seconds. They lean over and say: ask her about the investigation. Whisper Mode is built to do that job.

What it does

You take short notes as jurors answer. Whisper Mode reads each note in the context of the case you set up, the criteria you weighted and the juror's profile, and responds with one of three things:

• A follow-up question worth asking, phrased so an honest answer either way is useful
• A possible cause issue, with the specific statement to cite if you raise it
• A reminder of something in the profile that bears on what the juror just said

It does not alert you, buzz or interrupt. The panel updates quietly, and you look when you are ready.

What it does not do

Whisper Mode does not tell you whether to strike. It does not predict how a juror will vote. It does not generate reasons for a peremptory; it records the reasons you give. Every suggestion is a prompt for your judgment, and the design assumes you will ignore most of them, because you are the one who can see the juror's face.

How to use it well

A few things we have learned at counsel table:

1. Write notes the way you would whisper them. "Victim of burglary 2019, unsolved, frustrated with police" gives Whisper Mode more to work with than "burglary."
2. Read the suggested question, then ask your own. The suggestion is a starting point; the best follow-up is usually in your voice.
3. Treat cause flags as prompts, not conclusions. A flag means a statement may support a cause challenge. Whether to raise it is a judgment about the juror, the judge and the rest of the panel.
4. Let the second chair run it. Whisper Mode works well when one person questions and another enters notes and watches the panel.

Availability

Whisper Mode is included in every StrikeList AI trial, single or bundled, at no additional cost. Existing customers will find it under the voir dire view of any active case, with a short walkthrough in the Help Center.