11th Cir. Pattern Jury Instr. (Civil) 5.11

Liability for Failure to Train or Supervise (Incorporate into

Instructions for Claims against Individual Defendants)

[Name of plaintiff] claims that [name of government entity] is liable for

failing to adequately [train/supervise] its officer[s] and that this failure caused

[name of officer] to violate [name of plaintiff]’s [describe constitutional right, e.g.,

Fourth Amendment right to be free from excessive force].

To succeed on this claim, [name of plaintiff] must prove each of the

following facts by a preponderance of the evidence:

First: That [name of officer] violated [name of plaintiff]’s

[describe constitutional right, e.g., Fourth Amendment right to be free

from excessive force];

Second: That [name of officer] was not adequately [trained,

supervised] in [describe relevant area, e.g., the use of deadly force];

Third: That [name of official policy-maker] knew based on at least

one earlier instance of unconstitutional conduct materially similar to

[name of officer]’s violation of [name of plaintiff]’s constitutional rights

that [additional] [training/supervision] was needed to avoid [describe

alleged constitutional violation] likely recurring in the future; and

2

Fourth: That [name of official policy-maker] made a deliberate

choice not to provide [additional] [training/supervision] to [name of

officer].

NOTE: Model Jury Interrogatory Forms may be found in the appendices

after the last civil rights jury instruction (Pattern Instruction 5.13) for use in actions

brought under 42 U.S.C. §1983. Three types of Model Jury Interrogatory Forms are

provided: (A) a simplified Interrogatory Form for use in most civil rights actions;

(B) an Interrogatory Form for use in actions that do not require application of the

Prison Litigation Reform Act, and (C) an Interrogatory Form for use in

actions that do require application of the Prison Litigation Reform Act.