COLJI-Crim. C:10

I want to remind you that there are rules you must follow. These are

the same rules jurors have always had to follow. During the trial, this

courtroom is a place partially isolated from the outside world. Your

decision must be made inside this place and you must follow its rules. You

must decide this case based only on the evidence presented in the

courtroom and the law as I instruct you. You must avoid any other

information about the case from any other source. These rules are

designed to make sure there is a fair trial.

There are two basic rules:

1. You must not communicate with others or among yourselves

about the trial as it is going on.

2. You must not do any independent investigation or research

about the case.

I will go over these rules in great detail because they are very

important. I will also explain the reasons for these rules. If you learn

anyone has violated these rules you must report that to me or my staff at

once.

You must not discuss the case among yourselves in any way during

the course of the trial. You may not discuss the case among yourselves

until after you have heard all the evidence and you begin to deliberate on a

verdict. In fairness, you must keep an open mind throughout the trial, and

you may not form any opinions about the case or reach your decision until

I tell you that you may start deliberating on a verdict.

Do not permit anyone else to discuss the case with you, or near you.

If anyone, including one of your fellow jurors, attempts to do so, report

that fact immediately.

Do not talk with any witness, the defendant, or any of the attorneys

who are involved in the case. You cannot talk to them and they cannot talk

to you, even casually.

Do not communicate about the case with anyone else in any way,

including in person, by telephone, cell phone, smart phone, iPhone®,

Blackberry®, computer, the internet, or any internet service. This means

you must not e-mail, text, instant message, Tweet®, blog, or post

information about this case, or about your experience as a juror on this

case, on any website, list serve, chat room, blog, or website such as

Facebook®, My Space®, LinkedIn®, YouTube®, or Twitter®.

[Note to court: Modify this list to reflect changes in communication

technology.]

You must not read, review, or accept any communications in any

form from anyone regarding this case or cases like this. Therefore, you may

not mention that this is a criminal case or the charges that have been filed.

You are permitted, however, to explain to family, friends, and

employers that you are on a jury and to inform them of how long the trial

will last. You cannot say anything else though, about any aspect of your

experience until you are released from jury service.

While each of you want as much information as possible before

deciding the case, you cannot be investigators outside the courtroom.

Attempting to get further information outside the courtroom would be

unfair to the parties and would be a direct and serious violation of your

oath.

Do not attempt to gather any information on your own. Do not read

or research about this case or this kind of case from any other source,

including the internet. Many of us routinely use the internet to research

topics of interest. But you may not do that in this case. You may not use

Google®, Bing®, Yahoo®, or any other type of internet search engine to learn

about any person, place or thing that is involved in this case. This includes

the defendant, the attorneys, the witnesses, your fellow jurors, and the

court personnel. This applies whether you are here, at home, or anywhere

else. Do not read about this case in the newspapers or on the internet, or

listen to any radio or television broadcasts about the trial. The law even

prohibits you from consulting a dictionary.

Do not attempt to visit any places mentioned in this case. Finally, do

not in any other way try to learn about this case or this kind of case outside

the courtroom.

Why aren’t you allowed to do these things? Evidence presented to a

jury in court must meet at least three legal standards:

First, it must be allowable under the Rules of Evidence. The Rules of

Evidence are designed to eliminate information that is not reasonably

reliable.

Second, in a courtroom, witnesses are placed under oath to tell the

truth, under penalty of perjury.

Third, all witnesses’ testimony is subject to cross examination, which

means questioning by attorneys from the other side of the case. Cross

examination can help you determine whether testimony is credible or

evidence is reliable. By contrast, information you might obtain on your

own would not have been subject to the Rules of Evidence, would not be

under oath, and would not have been cross-examined. Therefore, it may

not be credible or reliable. Furthermore, if you secretly obtain information

on your own, the prosecution and defense would not know you had done

this, and would not have a fair opportunity to show that such information

may be false, inaccurate, or incomplete. Trials must not be decided based

upon secret information.

Breaking any of these rules would violate your oath as a juror and

would subject you to punishment for contempt of court. If you violate any

of these rules, you and your fellow jurors might have to come back to court

after this trial to testify about your conduct. Furthermore, violating your

oath could require a new trial before a new jury. Your misconduct will

have wasted all the time you, your fellow jurors, the Court, the attorneys,

and parties have spent in this trial.

After the trial is over and you have been discharged as jurors, you

will be free to discuss any aspect of this case with anyone and you may do

any research that you like. But no such communication with others or

research about this case may occur until then.

We are all depending upon you to uphold the oath that you have

taken to follow the rules as jurors and we are confident you will do so.