Wis JI-Criminal 300

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 your determination of credibility, you must avoid bias, conscious, or unconscious

based on the witness’s race, national origin, religion, age, ability, gender identity, sexual

orientation, education, income level, or any other personal characteristic.

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.

[GIVE THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH ONLY WHEN THE DEFENDANT

TESTIFIES.]1

[The defendant has testified in this case, and you should not discredit the testimony

just because the defendant is charged with a crime. Use the same factors to determine the

credibility and weight of the defendant’s testimony that you use to evaluate the testimony

of any other witness.]

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.