Civil Procedure Multistate Bar Practice Exam

What limitation applies to peremptory challenges during jury selection?

1. Each side is unlimited

2. Each side may exercise up to 6

3. Each side is limited to 3, must be race or gender neutral

4. Each side can use as many as they choose

The correct answer is: Each side is limited to 3, must be race or gender neutral

The correct response highlights that peremptory challenges are indeed limited in a way that requires parties to be race or gender neutral. Peremptory challenges allow litigants to dismiss potential jurors without providing any specific reason, but there are important limitations placed on this practice to prevent discrimination. The requirement that each side's use of peremptory challenges must be race or gender neutral stems from constitutional principles aimed at ensuring fair representation in the jury pool. This principle was notably established in the landmark case Batson v. Kentucky, where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a party cannot use peremptory challenges to exclude jurors solely based on their race. The same standard applies to gender, reinforcing the need for fairness in jury selection. In terms of the number allowed, most jurisdictions impose a limit on the number of peremptory challenges each party may exercise, typically around three or six, depending on the jurisdiction and the type of case. This framework is designed to balance the rights of the parties to select jurors while also protecting against practices that could lead to biased juries. Thus, the core aspect of the correct answer lies in its acknowledgment of both the numerical limitation and the necessity of neutrality in the exercise of peremptory challenges, which are