11th Cir. Pattern Jury Instr. (Civil) 1.1

Members of the Jury:

Now that you’ve been sworn, I need to explain some basic principles about a

civil trial and your duty as jurors. These are preliminary instructions. I’ll give you

more detailed instructions at the end of the trial.

The jury’s duty:

It’s your duty to listen to the evidence, decide what happened, and apply the

law to the facts. It’s my job to provide you with the law you must apply – and you

must follow the law even if you disagree with it.

What is evidence:

You must decide the case on only the evidence presented in the courtroom.

Evidence comes in many forms. It can be testimony about what someone saw,

heard, or smelled. It can be an exhibit or a photograph. It can be someone’s

opinion.

Some evidence may prove a fact indirectly. Let’s say a witness saw wet

grass outside and people walking into the courthouse carrying wet umbrellas. This

may be indirect evidence that it rained, even though the witness didn’t personally

see it rain. Indirect evidence like this is also called “circumstantial evidence” –

simply a chain of circumstances that likely proves a fact.

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As far as the law is concerned, it makes no difference whether evidence is

direct or indirect. You may choose to believe or disbelieve either kind. Your job is

to give each piece of evidence whatever weight you think it deserves.

What is not evidence:

During the trial, you’ll hear certain things that are not evidence and you

must not consider them.

First, the lawyers’ statements and arguments aren’t evidence. In their

opening statements and closing arguments, the lawyers will discuss the case. Their

remarks may help you follow each side’s arguments and presentation of evidence.

But the remarks themselves aren’t evidence and shouldn’t play a role in your

deliberations.

Second, the lawyers’ questions and objections aren’t evidence. Only the

witnesses’ answers are evidence. Don’t decide that something is true just because a

lawyer’s question suggests that it is. For example, a lawyer may ask a witness,

“You saw Mr. Jones hit his sister, didn’t you?” That question is not evidence of

what the witness saw or what Mr. Jones did – unless the witness agrees with it.

There are rules of evidence that control what the court can receive into

evidence. When a lawyer asks a witness a question or presents an exhibit, the

opposing lawyer may object if [he/she] thinks the rules of evidence don’t permit it.

If I overrule the objection, then the witness may answer the question or the court

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may receive the exhibit. If I sustain the objection, then the witness cannot answer

the question, and the court cannot receive the exhibit. When I sustain an objection

to a question, you must ignore the question and not guess what the answer might

have been.

Sometimes I may disallow evidence – this is also called “striking” evidence

– and order you to disregard or ignore it. That means that you must not consider

that evidence when you are deciding the case.

I may allow some evidence for only a limited purpose. When I instruct you

that I have admitted an item of evidence for a limited purpose, you must consider it

for only that purpose and no other.

Credibility of witnesses:

To reach a verdict, you may have to decide which testimony to believe and

which testimony not to believe. You may believe everything a witness says, part of

it, or none of it. When considering a witness’s testimony, you may take into

account:

· the witness’s opportunity and ability to see, hear, or know the things

the witness is testifying about;

· the witness’s memory;

· the witness’s manner while testifying;

· any interest the witness has in the outcome of the case;

· any bias or prejudice the witness may have;

· any other evidence that contradicts the witness’s testimony;

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· the reasonableness of the witness’s testimony in light of all the

evidence; and

· any other factors affecting believability.

At the end of the trial, I’ll give you additional guidelines for determining a

witness’s credibility.

Description of the case:

This is a civil case. To help you follow the evidence, I’ll summarize the

parties’ positions. The Plaintiff, [name of plaintiff], claims the Defendant, [name of

defendant], [describe claim(s)]. [Name of defendant] denies those claims and

contends that [describe counterclaims or affirmative defenses].

Burden of proof:

[Name of plaintiff] has the burden of proving [his/her/its] case by what the

law calls a “preponderance of the evidence.” That means [name of plaintiff] must

prove that, in light of all the evidence, what [he/she/it] claims is more likely true

than not. So, if you could put the evidence favoring [name of plaintiff] and the

evidence favoring [name of defendant] on opposite sides of balancing scales,

[name of plaintiff] needs to make the scales tip to [his/her/its] side. If [name of

plaintiff] fails to meet this burden, you must find in favor of [name of defendant].

To decide whether any fact has been proved by a preponderance of the

evidence, you may – unless I instruct you otherwise – consider the testimony of all

witnesses, regardless of who called them, and all exhibits that the court allowed,

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regardless of who produced them. After considering all the evidence, if you decide

a claim or fact is more likely true than not, then the claim or fact has been proved

by a preponderance of the evidence.

[Optional: On certain issues, called “affirmative defenses,” [name of

defendant] has the burden of proving the elements of a defense by a preponderance

of the evidence. I’ll instruct you on the facts [name of defendant] must prove for

any affirmative defense. After considering all the evidence, if you decide that

[name of defendant] has successfully proven that the required facts are more likely

true than not, the affirmative defense is proved.]

[Optional: [Name of defendant] has also brought claims for relief against

[name of plaintiff] called counterclaims. On these claims, [name of defendant] has

the same burden of proof that [name of plaintiff] has for [his/her/its] claims.]

Conduct of the jury:

While serving on the jury, you may not talk with anyone about anything

related to the case. You may tell people that you’re a juror and give them

information about when you must be in court. But you must not discuss anything

about the case itself with anyone.

You shouldn’t even talk about the case with each other until you begin your

deliberations. You want to make sure you’ve heard everything – all the evidence,

the lawyers’ closing arguments, and my instructions on the law – before you begin

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deliberating. You should keep an open mind until the end of the trial. Premature

discussions may lead to a premature decision.

In this age of technology, I want to emphasize that in addition to not talking

face-to-face with anyone about the case, you must not communicate with anyone

about the case by any other means. This includes e -mails, text messages, phone

calls, encrypted-communication applications, the Internet — including social-networking websites and apps, or any other similar technology, even if I have not

specifically mentioned it here.

You must not provide any information about the case to anyone by any

means whatsoever, and that includes posting information about the case, or what

you are doing in the case, on any device or Internet site, including blogs, chat

rooms, social websites, or any other means.

You also shouldn’t Google or search online or offline for any information

about the case, the parties, or the law. Don’t read or listen to the news about this

case, visit any places related to this case, or research any fact, issue, or law related

to this case. The law forbids the jurors to talk with anyone else about the case and

forbids anyone else to talk to the jurors about it. It’s very important that you

understand why these rules exist and why they’re so important. You must base

your decision only on the testimony and other evidence presented in the courtroom.

It is not fair to the parties if you base your decision in any way on information you

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acquire outside the courtroom. For example, the law often uses words and phrases

in special ways, so it’s important that any definitions you hear come only from me

and not from any other source. Only you jurors can decide a verdict in this case.

The law sees only you as fair, and only you have promised to be fair – no one else

is so qualified.

Taking notes:

If you wish, you may take notes to help you remember what the witnesses

said. If you do take notes, please don’t share them with anyone until you go to the

jury room to decide the case. Don’t let note -taking distract you from carefully

listening to and observing the witnesses. When you leave the courtroom, you

should leave your notes hidden from view in the jury room.

Whether or not you take notes, you should rely on your own memory of the

testimony. Your notes are there only to help your memory. They’re not entitled to

greater weight than your memory or impression about the testimony.

Course of the trial:

Let’s walk through the trial. First, each side may make an opening statement,

but they don’t have to. Remember, an opening statement isn’t evidence, and it’s

not supposed to be argumentative; it’s just an outline of what that party intends to

prove.

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Next, [name of plaintiff] will present [his/her/its] witnesses and ask them

questions. After [name of plaintiff] questions the witness, [name of defendant] may

ask the witness questions – this is called “cross- examining” the witness. Then

[name of defendant] will present [his/her/its] witnesses, and [name of plaintiff]

may cross -examine them. You should base your decision on all the evidence,

regardless of which party presented it.

After all the evidence is in, the parties’ lawyers will present their closing

arguments to summarize and interpret the evidence for you, and then I’ll give you

instructions on the law.

[Note: Some judges may wish to give some instructions before closing

arguments. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 51(b)(3).]

You’ll then go to the jury room to deliberate.