FL · jury_instructions
Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Crim.) 2.1(c)
QUESTIONS BY JURORS
To be given only if the judge permits jury questions.
During the trial, you will be permitted to ask questions of witnesses in case you missed something, you did not understand something, or you need to clarify a pertinent issue.
The rules of evidence apply regardless of whether a question is asked by the attorneys, by me, or by you. Therefore, there may be a legal reason why I will not ask your question. If I do not ask your question, you must not hold that against any of the parties, you must not discuss it with the other jurors, and please do not take it personally.
If you have a question, you should ask it before the witness leaves the witness stand.
Subject to these understandings, this is how we will proceed: (Two possible procedures are outlined below. Give only one. The second alternative is designed to ensure anonymity).
1. When the attorneys have finished asking their questions, please raise your hand to get my attention. I will give you time to write your question[s] on a clean piece of paper and give the paper to the [bailiff] [court deputy]. I will then confer privately with the attorneys. If I ask your question[s], the witness will answer and the attorneys may follow up if they choose. The questioning of witnesses is the primary responsibility of the attorneys. If your question[s] is [are] not asked, you must not discuss it with other jurors or hold it against either party. You are not obligated to ask any questions, but if it will help your understanding of the case, you may do so.
2. When the attorneys have finished asking their questions, I will ask each of you to write something down on a clean piece of paper. If you do not have a question, please write – “no questions.” If you have [a] question[s], please write the question[s] on the paper. Please do not put your name on the paper because I do not want anyone to know which juror is submitting a question. Please then fold the paper in half and give it to the [bailiff] [court deputy]. I will then confer privately with the attorneys. If I ask the question[s], the witness will answer and the attorneys may follow up if they choose. The questioning of witnesses is the primary responsibility of the attorneys. If your question[s] is [are] not asked, you must not discuss it with other jurors or hold it against either party. You are not obligated to ask any questions, but if it will help your understanding of the case, you may do so.
Provenance
- Source
- floridabar.org
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-18
- Edition
- 2026-08-18
- Content hash
d25d5a1e8b893c3cd57c060bec46ae82a81dedcb33e4fb270ea2f1057f346856
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