W.R.C.P. 39.1

(a) Juror note taking. — At the beginning of civil trials, the court shall

instruct the jurors that they will be permitted to take notes during the trial if

they wish to do so. The court shall provide each juror with appropriate

materials for this purpose and shall give jurors appropriate instructions about

procedures for note taking and restrictions on jurors’ use of their notes. The

jurors may take their notes with them for use during court recesses and

deliberations, but jurors shall not be permitted to take their notes out of the

courthouse. The bailiff or clerk shall collect all jurors’ notes at the end of each

day of trial and shall return jurors’ notes when trial resumes. After the trial

has concluded and the jurors have completed their deliberations, the bailiff or

clerk shall collect all jurors’ notes before the jurors are excused. The bailiff or

clerk shall promptly destroy these notes.

(b) Juror notebooks. — The court may provide all jurors with identical

“Juror Notebooks” to assist the jurors in organizing materials the jurors

receive at trial. Typical contents of a juror notebook include blank paper for

note taking, stipulations of the parties, lists or seating charts identifying

counsel and their respective clients, general instructions for jurors, and

pertinent case specific instructions. Notebooks may also include copies of

important exhibits (which may be highlighted), glossaries of key technical

terms, pictures of witnesses, and a copy of the court’s juror handbook, if one is

available. During the trial, the materials in the juror notebooks may be

supplemented with additional materials as they become relevant and are

approved by the court for inclusion. Copies of any additional jury instructions

given to jurors during trial or before closing arguments should also be included

in juror notebooks before the jurors retire to deliberate. The trial court should

generally resolve with counsel at a pretrial conference whether juror notebooks

will be used and, if so, what contents will be included. The trial court may

require that counsel meet in advance of the pretrial conference to confer and

attempt to agree on the contents of the notebooks. The jurors may take their

notebooks with them for use during court recesses and deliberations, but jurors

shall not be permitted to take their notebooks out of the courthouse. The bailiff

or clerk shall collect all jurors’ notebooks at the end of each day of trial and

shall return jurors’ notebooks when trial resumes. After the trial has concluded

and the jurors have completed their deliberations, the bailiff or clerk shall

collect all jurors’ notebooks before the jurors are excused. The bailiff or clerk

shall promptly destroy the contents of the notebooks, except that one copy of

the contents of the juror notebooks, excluding jurors’ personal notes and

annotations, shall be preserved and retained as part of the official trial record.