What is one reason parties utilize preemptory challenges during jury selection?

Parties utilize peremptory challenges during jury selection primarily to remove jurors whom they believe may influence the trial outcome in a way that is unfavorable to their case. This strategic selection allows attorneys to avoid seating jurors who they perceive may carry biases or predispositions that could affect their judgment or decision-making in the trial context. Peremptory challenges are designed to promote the fairness of the trial by allowing parties to shape the jury according to their legal strategy and assessment of juror attitudes, without needing to provide a specific reason for the exclusion.

While ensuring juror impartiality is a general goal of the jury selection process, peremptory challenges specifically give parties the autonomy to exclude jurors based on subjective preferences. Maintaining jury diversity or selecting jurors from specific professions may align with the parties’ broader strategies, but those are not the primary purposes of utilizing peremptory challenges. The opportunity to influence which jurors can potentially sway the case's outcome is the key reason these challenges are an important aspect of the jury selection process in legal proceedings.