COLJI-Crim. E:01

Members of the jury, the evidence in this case has been completed. In

a moment, I will read to you jury instructions that contain the rules of law

you must apply to reach your verdict. You will have copies of what I read

to take with you to the jury room. But first, I want to mention a few things

you need to keep in mind when you are discussing this case in the jury

room.

Until you have returned a verdict, you must not do any research

about this case or this kind of case using any source, including dictionaries,

reference materials, the internet or any other electronic means. You must

not communicate in any way with anyone else about this case or this kind

of case until you have returned a verdict in court. This includes your

family and friends. If you have a cell phone or other electronic device, you

must keep it turned off during jury deliberations.

[Note to court: Consider giving a more detailed admonishment like

that in Instruction B:06 (admonition about conduct during trial).

Also, consider having the jurors surrender their electronic devices

during deliberations.]

It is my job to decide what rules of law apply to the case. While the

attorneys may comment on some of these rules, you must follow the

instructions I give you. Even if you disagree with or do not understand the

reasons for some of the rules of law, you must follow them. No single

instruction describes all the law which must be applied; the instructions

must be considered together as a whole.

During the trial, you received all of the evidence that you may

properly consider in deciding the case. Your decision must be made by

applying the rules of law that I give you to the evidence presented at trial.

Remember, you must not be influenced by sympathy, bias or prejudice in

reaching your decision.

[You should not allow bias or any kind of prejudice based upon

gender to influence your decision.]

You must also not be biased for or against the defendant, any

witness, or any other party based on any identifying characteristic such as

race, religion, age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual

orientation, ethnicity, national origin, disability, socioeconomic status, or

any other such characteristic. You must not allow bias to influence your

verdict.

Remember that you must also guard against unconscious bias (also

called implicit bias). Unconscious biases are stereotypes, perceptions,

attitudes, or preferences that people may hold without being aware of

them. Such biases can affect how we evaluate information and make

decisions. You must not allow unconscious bias to influence your verdict.

[One way to guard against unconscious bias is to ask yourself, during

your deliberations, whether your views and conclusions would be different

if the defendant or the witnesses were of a different race, religion, age,

gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity,

national origin, disability, socioeconomic status, or any other such

characteristic. If the answer is yes, then you should reconsider your views

and conclusions along with the other jurors, and make sure that your

decision is based on the evidence and not on any such stereotypes,

perceptions, attitudes, or preferences.]

If you decide that the prosecution has proved beyond a reasonable

doubt that the defendant is guilty, it will be my job to decide what the

punishment will be. In making your decision, you must not consider

punishment at all. At times during the trial, attorneys made objections. Do

not draw any conclusions from the objections or from my rulings on the

objections. These only related to legal questions I had to decide and should

not influence your thinking. If I told you not to consider a particular

statement that was made during the trial, you must not consider it in your

deliberations.

[I have asked questions of witnesses during the trial. That did not

mean I had any opinion about the facts in the case.]

Finally, you should consider all the evidence in light of your

experience in life.