AK · jury_instructions
Alaska Criminal Pattern Jury Instruction 1.09
Objections
There are rules of law that control what evidence you can consider. You may only consider testimony and exhibits that are admitted as evidence. When an attorney asks a question or offers an exhibit, and the attorney on the other side thinks that it is not permitted by the rules of evidence, that attorney may object. Then I will rule on the objection. If I agree it is a valid objection, I will say “sustained.” If I disagree, I will say “overruled.”
If I overrule the objection, the question may be answered or the exhibit admitted. If I sustain an objection to an exhibit, the exhibit is not admitted. If I sustain an objection to a question, the witness may not answer the question, and you must disregard the question entirely. Don’t draw any conclusions from the wording of the question or speculate as to what the witness would have said if permitted to answer the question. If I sustain an objection to a question after an answer has been given, then you must disregard both the question and the answer.
Sometimes I may order that evidence be stricken from the record and instruct you to disregard the evidence. In that case, you must not consider it.
You may wonder why some evidence must be excluded. Evidence rules are designed to do two things. First, they try to help you focus on important and reliable evidence. Second, these rules help you decide the case objectively without being swayed by information that might cause you to respond emotionally.
It is because the law protects what jurors hear that we have such confidence in a jury being impartial.
You must not consider the fact that the attorneys make objections or ask the court to take certain actions. Objections or requests are not evidence. My rulings that exclude evidence or questions are designed to ensure that you decide the case fairly.
When I allow testimony or other evidence to be introduced over the objection of an attorney, I do not mean to suggest any opinion as to the weight or effect of that evidence. It will be your job to decide how much weight to give the evidence.
History
Alaska Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions 1.09, dated Revised 2011. Prepared by the Alaska Criminal 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
47ae9076c9873a8488aa48773e9e933f0a32cf517cf2b66898c59f560b1d7e86
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