I have been empaneled twice. In the first case it was a personal injury case involving someone who had slipped in a supermarket. During the voir dire we were asked about knowledge of law, or family members with knowledge of law. I raised my hand. I explained that my grandfather was a lawyer, his brother was a judge in NY State, my mother was Assistant Attorney General of NY State for Workman's Compensation, two aunts had married lawyers, my cousin was a lawyer, and my sister was a lawyer.
The lawyer - for the defendant, then asked if any of these worked with personal injury cases. I stared at him in disbelief, then looked at the judge, who at the time was Presiding Judge for that Circuit in Virginia (Arlington and Falls Church). He said, "Mr. Attorney, workman's compensation IS personal injury). For more than five minutes the lawyer threw questions at me trying to find a reason to get the judge to disqualify me. Finally the judge intervened saying "Mr. Attorney, we have established that the juror has not prejudged the cases, is not prejudiced either for or against your client. Don't you think it is time you stopped badgering the
