3d Cir. Model Jury Instr. (Criminal) 1.08

You must make your decision in this case based only on the evidence that

you see and hear in the courtroom. Do not let rumors, suspicions, or anything

else that you may see or hear outside of court influence your decision in any way.

The evidence from which you are to find the facts consists of the following:

(1) The testimony of the witnesses;

(2) Documents and other things received as exhibits; and

(3) Any fact or testimony that is stipulated; that is, formally agreed to by

the parties.

The following are not evidence:

(1) Statements and arguments of the lawyers for the parties in this case;

(2) Questions by the lawyers and questions that I might ask. You must not

assume that a fact is true just because one of the lawyers or I ask a question

about it. It is the witness answers that are evidence. Of course, you may

need to consider the question to know what a witness means by his or her

answer. For example, if a witness answers yes to a question, you will have

to consider the question to understand what the witness is saying.

(3) Objections by lawyers, including objections in which the lawyers state

facts;

(4) Any testimony I strike or tell you to disregard; and

(5) Anything you may see or hear about this case outside the courtroom.

You should use your common sense in weighing the evidence. Consider it

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in light of your everyday experience with people and events, and give it whatever

weight you believe it deserves. If your experience and common sense tell you

that certain evidence reasonably leads to a conclusion, you may reach that

conclusion.

The rules of evidence control what can be received into evidence. When a

lawyer asks a question or offers an exhibit into evidence, and a lawyer on the

other side thinks that it is not permitted by the rules of evidence, that lawyer may

object. An objecti on simply means that the lawyer is asking me to decide

whether the evidence should be allowed under the rules. Lawyers have a

responsibility to their clients to make objections when they think evidence being

offered is improper under the rules of evidence. You should not be influenced by

the fact that an objection is made.

You should also not be influenced by my rulings on objections to evidence.

If I overrule an objection, the question may be answered or the exhibit may be

received as evidence, and you should treat the testimony or exhibit like any other.

I may allow evidence (testimony or exhibits) only for a limited purpose. If I do

that, I will instruct you to consider the evidence only for that limited purpose, and

you must follow that instruction.

If I sustain an objection, the question will not be answered or the exhibit

will not be received as evidence. Whenever I sustain an objection, you must

disregard the question or the exhibit entirely. Do not think about or guess what

the witness might have said in answer to the question; do not think about or guess

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what the exhibit might have shown. Sometimes a witness may have already

answered before a lawyer objects or before I rule on the objection. If that

happens and if I sustain the objection, you should disregard the answer that was

given.

Also, I may order that some testimony or other evidence be stricken or

removed from the record. If I do that, I will instruct you to disregard that

evidence. That means, when you are deciding the case, you must not consider or

be influenced in any way by the testimony or other evidence that I told you to

disregard.

Although the lawyers may call your attention to certain facts or factual

conclusions that they think are important, what the lawyers say is not evidence

and is not binding on you. It is your own recollection and interpretation of the

evidence that controls your decision. Also, do not assume from anything I do or

say during the trial that I have any opinion about the evidence or about any of the

issues in this case or about what your verdict should be.