10th Cir. Crim. Pattern Jury Instr. 1.01

Members of the Jury:

At the end of the trial I will give you detailed guidance on

the law and on how you will go about reaching your decision. But

now I simply want to generally explain how the trial will proceed.

This criminal case has been brought by the United States

government. I will sometimes refer to the government as the

prosecution. The government is represented by an assistant

United States attorney, ———. The defendant, ———, is

represented by his lawyer, ———. [Alternative: The defendant, —

——, has decided to represent himself and not use the services of

a lawyer. He has a perfect right to do this. His decision has no

bearing on whether he is guilty or not guilty, and it should have

no effect on your consideration of the case.]

The indictment charges the defendant with [read or

summarize the indictment e.g.: having intentionally sold heroin].

The indictment is simply the description of the charge made by

the government against the defendant; it is not evidence of guilt

or anything else. The defendant pleaded not guilty and is

presumed innocent. He may not be found guilty by you unless all

twelve of you unanimously find that the government has proved

his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. [Addition for multi-defendant

cases: There are multiple defendants in this case and you will have

to give separate consideration to the case against each defendant

as each is entitled to individual consideration.]

The first step in the trial will be the opening statements.

The government in its opening statement will tell you about the

evidence which it intends to put before you. Just as the indictment

is not evidence, neither is the opening statement. Its purpose is

only to help you understand what the evidence will be. It is a road

map to show you what is ahead.

After the government’s opening statement, the defendant’s

attorney may make an opening statement. [Change if the

defendant reserves his statement until later or omit if the

defendant has decided not to make an opening statement.]

Evidence will be presented from which you will have to

determine the facts. The evidence will consist of the testimony of

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the witnesses, documents and other things received into the

record as exhibits, and any facts about which the lawyers agree or

to which they stipulate.

The government will offer its evidence. After the

government’s evidence, the defendant’s lawyer may [make an

opening statement and] present evidence, but he is not required to

do so. I remind you that the defendant is presumed innocent and

it is the government that must prove the defendant’s guilt beyond

a reasonable doubt. If the defendant submits evidence, the

government may introduce rebuttal evidence.

At times during the trial, a lawyer may make an objection to

a question asked by another lawyer, or to an answer by a witness.

This simply means that the lawyer is requesting that I make a

decision on a particular rule of law. Do not draw any conclusion

from such objections or from my rulings on the objections. If I

sustain an objection to a question, the witness may not answer it.

Do not attempt to guess what answer might have been given if I

had allowed the answer. If I overrule the objection, treat the

answer as any other. If I tell you not to consider a particular

statement, you may not refer to that statement in your later

deliberations. Similarly, if I tell you to consider a particular piece

of evidence for a specific purpose, you may consider it only for that

purpose.

During the course of the trial I may have to interrupt the

proceedings to confer with the attorneys about the rules of law

that should apply. Sometimes we will talk briefly, at the bench.

But some of these conferences may take more time, so I will

excuse you from the courtroom. I will try to avoid such

interruptions whenever possible, but please be patient even if the

trial seems to be moving slowly because conferences often actually

save time in the end.

You are to consider all the evidence received in this trial. It

will be up to you to decide what evidence to believe and how much

of any witness’s testimony to accept or reject.

After you have heard all the evidence on both sides, the

government and the defense will each be given time for their final

arguments.

[The final part of the trial occurs when I instruct you on the

rules of law which you are to use in reaching your verdict.]

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During the course of the trial I may ask a question of a

witness. If I do, that does not indicate I have any opinion about

the facts in the case but am only trying to bring out facts that you

may consider.

[Insert Instruction 1.02 here if material on note -taking by

jurors is desired.]

[Insert discussion of the elements of the offense here if they

are to be set out for the jury in the preliminary instruction.]

[Ordinarily, the attorneys will develop all the relevant

evidence that will be necessary for you to reach your verdict.

However, in rare situations, a juror may believe a question is

critical to reaching a decision on a necessary element of the case.

In that exceptional circumstance, you may write out a question

and provide it to the courtroom deputy while the witness is on the

stand. I will then consider that question with the lawyers. If it is

determined to be a proper and necessary question, I will ask it. If

I do not ask it, you should recognize that I have determined it is

not a legally appropriate question and not worry about why it was

not asked or what the answer would have been.]

During the course of the trial, you should not talk with any

witness, or with the defendant, or with any of the lawyers at all.

In addition, during the course of the trial you should not talk about

the trial with anyone else. Do not discuss the case with anyone or

provide any information about the trial to anyon e outside the

courtroom until the verdict is received. Do not use the internet or

any other form of electronic communication to provide any

information. Simply put, do not communicate with anyone about

the trial until your verdict is received. Also, you should not discuss

this case among yourselves until I have instructed you on the law

and you have gone to the jury room to make your decision at the

end of the trial. It is important that you wait until all the evidence

is received and you have heard my instructions on the controlling

rules of law before you deliberate among yourselves. Let me add

that during the course of the trial you will receive all the evidence

you properly may consider to decide the case. Because of this, you

should not attempt to gathe r any information or do any research

on your own. Do not attempt to visit any places mentioned in the

case, either actually or on the internet, and do not in any other

way try to learn about the case outside the courtroom.

The court reporter is making stenographic notes of everything

that is said. This is basically to assist any appeals. However, a

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typewritten copy of the testimony will not be available for your use

during deliberations. On the other hand, any exhibits will be

available to you during your deliberations.

Now that the trial has begun you must not hear or read about

it in the media. The reason for this is that your decision in this

case must be made solely on the evidence presented at the trial.

With that introduction, Mr. —————, you may present the

opening statement for the government.