I think pretty trivially whats good for the prosecutor is not necessarily bad for the defense. i.e. if somebody says they're going to flip a coin to make their decision is going to be bad for both of them. (unless one side thinks they have absolutely no chance).

Not a lawyer but I think you have unlimited dismissals [1] its just there's a limit to the number of ones you don't have to provide a reason for. And I'm also sure the rules vary state by state.

[1]: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resource...

You’re right, when I say they get a certain number of dismissals, it’s “no questions asked”. But getting a judge to dismiss someone who you don’t feel is sympathetic to your client isn’t going to fly.

So the “no questions asked” dismissals tend to be people who may be sympathetic to either side.

If it’s a murder case the defense may want people who are pro-self defense while the prosecution may not.

Being pro or anti-self defense isn’t in itself a disqualified as long as you can follow jury instructions.

> (unless one side thinks they have absolutely no chance).

Wouldn't one side having a 49% chance be enough for them to prefer the coin flip?

Generally, the issue is that the person has specialized knowledge that one side or the other inevitably doesn't want on the jury.