Proposed Mississippi Plain Language Model Jury Instructions - Civil 100

Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Judge ______________________, and it is my

pleasure to welcome you to the ____________________ Court.

You have been called here today to possibly serve on a jury in a civil case. Some of you

may have served on a jury in the past and some of you may not. Jury duty is one of the most

important duties of a citizen. The role of the jury is very important to our justice system.

Today’s case is a civil case. It is also called a lawsuit. [Name(s) of plaintiff(s)] filed this

lawsuit against [name(s) of defendant(s)]. [Name of plaintiff] is called a “plaintiff.” [Name of

defendant] is called a “defendant.”

We will now begin jury selection for today’s case. The reason for jury selection is to get

information about you that will help the attorneys and me choose a fair and impartial jury to hear

this case.

During jury selection, the attorneys and I will ask you questions. These questions are not

meant to embarrass you or to pry into your personal business. The questions are meant to find out

if you know anything about this case. We need to find out if you have any opinions or know

anything about the case that will influence you either for or against the plaintiff(s) or

defendant(s).

The questions will be asked to the entire group. If you need to give a specific answer, you

should raise your hand. I will call on you for your answer. If you would like to answer a question

privately, you may answer the question here at the court bench.

The attorney(s) representing [name(s) of plaintiff(s)], the plaintiff(s), [is/are] [name(s) of

attorney(s)]. The attorney(s) representing [name(s) of defendant(s)], the defendant(s), [is/are]

[name(s) of attorney(s)].

This case is about ___________________________ [specify type of action]. The plaintiff

has claimed that the defendant has _________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

[briefly describe or list the elements of the cause of action].

Have any of you heard anything about this case?

Have any of you been involved with a case like this one?

Do any of you have family members who have been involved in a case like this one?

Would this involvement influence your decision in this case?

Have any of you had any personal or business relationships with either the plaintiff(s) or

the defendant(s) or the attorneys for the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s)?

In serving on a jury, there are two important principles that must be remembered:

(1) The first principle is that both the plaintiff(s) and the defendant(s) are entitled to a trial

by a fair and impartial jury. That means that you cannot have any pre-conceived ideas about the

case for either the plaintiff(s) or the defendant(s). You must keep an open mind throughout the

entire trial until the case is given to you to decide. You must then base your decision only on the

evidence proved at trial and the law. Do any of you have a problem doing that in this case?

(2) The second principle is that both the plaintiff(s) and the defendant(s) are entitled to a

fair trial. To make sure that both the plaintiff(s) and the defendant(s) receive a fair trial, there are

certain rules that the trial has to follow. There are rules of evidence, rules of procedure, and rules

of law. Sometimes the rules may prevent you from hearing evidence that you may want to hear or

you think that you should be allowed to hear. You may disagree with these rules. Sometimes

these rules may require the attorneys and me to discuss things without the jury present to hear

them. You may have to leave and go to the jury room while we discuss these matters. However,

if you serve on the jury, you will have to follow all of these rules. Do any of you have a problem

following the rules in this case?

Lastly, do any of you have a personal matter, a health matter, or an important business

matter that will keep you from giving your full attention to this case if you are selected to serve

on the jury?

Thank you for your attention and honesty.