MS · jury_instructions
Proposed Mississippi Plain Language Model Jury Instructions - Civil 1303
Battery – Self-Defense – General Instruction and Verdict Form
General Instruction
[Name of defendant] claims that [he/she] is not legally responsible for [name of
plaintiff]’s [harm/injury/injuries] because [name of defendant] was acting in ________________
[specify (1) self-defense or (2) defense of [his/her] property]. To establish this claim, [name of
defendant] must prove all of the following are more likely true than not true:
1. [Name of defendant] reasonably believed that [name of plaintiff] was about to harm or injure
[him/her] or [his/her] property; and
2. [Name of defendant] used the amount of force that was reasonably necessary to protect
[himself/herself] or [his/her] property.
Verdict Form
We answer the questions submitted to us as follows:
1. Did [name of defendant] reasonably believe that [name of plaintiff] was about to harm or
injure [him/her] or [his/her] property?
YES _______ NO _______
If your answer to question 1 is YES, then answer question 2. If you answered NO, stop
here and tell the bailiff.
2. Did [name of defendant] use the amount of force that was reasonably necessary to protect
[himself/herself] or [his/her] property?
YES _______ NO _______
If your answers to questions 1-2 are YES, then you must find in favor of [name of
defendant] on [his/her] claim of self-defense.
After you have filled out the verdict form, please tell the bailiff that you have reached a verdict.
History
Proposed Mississippi Plain Language Model Jury Instructions - Civil 1303 (current as of February 17, 2012). Submitted in 2012 by the Mississippi Model Jury Instructions Commission (created by the Supreme Court of Mississippi by order of December 30, 2008) and published by the Court on courts.ms.gov. The Court states that these model jury instructions have not been adopted or approved by the Supreme Court of Mississippi.
Provenance
- Source
- courts.ms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-25
- Edition
- 2026-09-25
- Content hash
c65f56dff8fdf53eec18651f862774637bf95951d57e7d397396a6041ad150f6
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