Voir dire
The origin of the legal term voir dire is Anglo-Norman. It was an oath given to members of a jury. Witnesses are usually sworn in with the oath: "The evidence you shall give... shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...". The voir dire oath was: "you shall true answer make to all such questions the court shall demand of you..." In the United States the history of voir dire goes back to the Massachusetts Jury Selection Law  of 1760. Many cases that went to trial involved seditious libel. British officials in the colonies put anyone on trial who printed anything criticizing British rule. To get every conviction possible, the British government made sure to only pick jurors who would convict the defendant. The sheriff was made responsible to select a list of jurors favorable to the British crown. To counter this, the 1760 Massachusetts law required the list the sheriff used to be selected by a town meeting. In those public meetings prospective jurors were questioned about any biases they might have. Defendants were also able to question possible jurors before they were selected. This voir dire process made jury selection fair. In 1774 the British Parliament cancelled the 1760 Massachusetts law. They left jury selection up to the court. This gave the crown a free hand in making sure trials ended the way they wanted. But, two years later the Americans declared their independence. The American system of voir dire was developed from that time on.