Wis JI-Children 140

It is the duty of the jury to scrutinize and to weigh the testimony of witnesses and to

determine the effect of the evidence as a whole. You are the sole judges of the credibility,

that is, the believability, of the witnesses and of the weight to be given to their testimony.

In determining the credibility of each witness and the weight you give to the testimony

of each witness, consider these factors:

• whether the witness has an interest or lack of interest in the result of this trial;

• the witness' conduct, appearance, and demeanor on the witness stand;

• the clearness or lack of clearness of the witness' recollections;

• the opportunity the witness had for observing and for knowing the matters the

witness testified about;

• the reasonableness of the witness' testimony;

• the apparent intelligence of the witness;

• bias or prejudice, if any has been shown;

• possible motives for falsifying testimony; and

• all other facts and circumstances during the trial which tend either to support

or to discredit the testimony.

Then give to the testimony of each witness the weight you believe it should receive.

There is no magic way for you to evaluate the testimony; instead, you should use your

common sense and experience. In everyday life, you determine for yourselves the reliability

of things people say to you. You should do the same thing here.

The weight of evidence does not depend on the number of witnesses on each side.

You may find that the testimony of one witness is entitled to greater weight than that of

another witness or even of several other witnesses.