AK · jury_instructions
Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instruction 1A.14
Limiting Instruction - Character Evidence Offered to Impeach or Bolster Credibility
It is for you to decide whether or not to believe a witness who testifies. In doing so, you may consider evidence of a witness' reputation for telling the truth (or telling lies) or someone's opinion of a witness' truthfulness (or untruthfulness). [This evidence may only be used in deciding whether or not to believe a witness. It is not a reason to favor one party over another.] Do not be surprised that these witnesses limit their testimony to reputation and opinion and do not describe the specific acts of the witness that they know or have heard about. The law does not allow them to testify about the specific past actions of a witness. It would take too long for us to consider all the good and bad things that a witness may ever have done.
However, a person who testifies about a witness' reputation for truthfulness or who gives an opinion about a witness' truthfulness may be asked whether they have heard or know specific things about the witness. If the answers is "yes," the person may be asked to explain how these things have affected the reputation or opinion of the witness. If the answers is "no," you may consider how this answer bears on what was said, remembering that what is stated in a question is not evidence and should not be assumed to be true.
History
Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instructions 1A.14, dated Added 1999. Prepared by the Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instructions Committee; published by the Alaska Court System. The Alaska Court System states that these instructions "have not been approved or promulgated by any court or the Alaska Bar Association."
Provenance
- Source
- courts.alaska.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-24
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
d814331d473663c4d22dbb8976983bb80dc916fa93ad3cb6b6ee4a73d50552c0
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