Also known as: jury instruction · jury charge · jury charges · instructions to the jury
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Directions given by a judge to a jury explaining the legal rules the jury must apply when deciding the facts of a case. The instructions frame the elements of claims or defenses and guide the jury on burdens of proof and permissible inferences.
After both sides rested in a contract dispute, Joanna Jung submitted written requests to the court specifying how the jury should be told to evaluate breach and damages. The court considered the requests before charging the jury. Jung's filing preserved her objections to the final instructions delivered.
In a maritime pollution suit, the judge instructed the jury on factors for setting punitive damages, including the defendant's financial condition and the need for deterrence. The charge limited the award to an amount that would not bankrupt the company. The jury returned a reduced punitive figure after applying the guidance.
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During a murder trial, the court told the jury it could consider withheld exculpatory statements when weighing the defendant's guilt. The instruction emphasized that the prosecution bore the burden on every element. The jury acquitted after evaluating the material under the charge.
In a joint robbery prosecution, the judge instructed the jury that one defendant's confession could not be used against the other. The charge directed separate consideration of each defendant's evidence. The jury convicted only the confessing defendant.
At a firearms possession trial, the court instructed the jury on the constitutional limits of the charged statute. The charge required the jury to determine whether the defendant's conduct fell within protected activity. The jury acquitted after applying the legal framework.
After a conviction, the appellate court examined whether an erroneous jury instruction on witness credibility affected the outcome. The charge had misstated the reasonable-doubt standard. The court found the error harmless because other instructions and evidence supported the verdict.
The court determines the legal standard stated in jury instructions. The judge decides questions of law such as the existence of a duty or the elements of a claim and then frames those rules for the jury. The jury applies the standard supplied by the court to the facts it finds.
A party may file written requests for jury instructions at the close of the evidence or at any earlier reasonable time ordered by the court. Requests on issues that could not reasonably have been anticipated may be filed after the close of the evidence.
Jury instructions that create a mandatory presumption on an element of an offense violate due process. Such instructions shift the burden of proof to the defendant and relieve the prosecution of proving every element beyond a reasonable doubt.
A court need not always give a specific instruction on the presumption of innocence. Whether the instruction is required depends on the totality of the circumstances, including other instructions, counsel's arguments, and the strength of the evidence.
…abortion necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman was excepted from the criminal penalties of the 1861 Act. In his instructions to the jury, Judge Macnaghten referred to the 1929 Act, and observed that that Act related to "the case where a child is killed by a wilful act at the time when it is being delivered in the ordinary…