MS · jury_instructions

Proposed Mississippi Plain Language Model Jury Instructions - Civil 1403

Defamation Per Se - General Instruction and Verdict Form

activein force · 2012-02-17 – presentas-observed

General Instruction

[Name of plaintiff] claims that [name of defendant] harmed [him/her/it] by

[saying/writing] a statement of fact that was false and that [name of defendant] is legally

responsible for that harm. To establish this claim, [name of plaintiff] must prove all of the

following are more likely true than not true:

1. [Name of defendant] [said/wrote] ___________________________________ [describe the

allegedly defamatory statement], or similar words, to [name of third party to whom the

statements were made]; and

2. The statement accused [name of plaintiff] of ____________________________________

[specify (1) committing a serious crime; (2) having an awful or contagious disease; (3) being

sexually active or not being a virgin; or (4) doing something that would harm [name of

plaintiff]’s business, job, or profession]; and

3. The statement was false.

Verdict Form

We answer the questions submitted to us as follows:

1. Did [name of defendant] [say/write] ___________________________ [describe the allegedly

defamatory statement], or similar words, to [name of third party to whom the statements were

made]?

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 the statement accuse [name of plaintiff] of ____________________________________

[specify (1) committing a serious crime; (2) having an awful or contagious disease; (3) being

sexually active or not being a virgin; or (4) doing something that would harm [name of

plaintiff]’s business, job, or profession]?

YES _______ NO _______

If your answer to question 2 is YES, then answer question 3. If you answered NO, stop

here and tell the bailiff.

3. Was the statement false?

YES _______ NO _______

If your answer to question 3 is YES, then answer question 4. If you answered NO, stop

here and tell the bailiff.

4. What are [name of plaintiff]’s damages?

$__________ TOTAL

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 1403 (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: a88e1dcd92314e0933d71df32082ad888094b2e4eb53f79575ff04c9ee12f155

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