201.1 Description of the Case (Prior to Voir Dire) Welcome. [I] [The clerk] will now administer your oath. Now that you have been sworn, I'd like to give you an idea about what we are here to do. This is a civil trial. A civil trial is different from a criminal case, where a defendant is charged by the state prosecutor with committing a crime. The subject of a civil trial is a disagreement between people or companies [or others, as appropriate], where the claims of one or more of these parties have been brought to court to be resolved. It is called "a trial of a lawsuit." This is a case about (insert brief description of claim(s) and defense(s) brought to trial in this case). The incident involved in this case occurred on (date) at (location). (Add any other information relevant to voir dire). The principal witnesses who will testify in this case are (list witnesses).