For litigators, years of toil are often capstoned by the trial, and the trial is the final chapter for a litigant’s claims. The lawyers play their role by crafting the best arguments for their clients’ positions, witnesses play theirs by providing facts and context, and judges play their role by ensuring the rules of court are properly followed. But the jury has center stage when it is all said and done and when a decision must ultimately be made. And the last piece of guidance on law and procedure that jurors are given are the jury instructions or the jury charge.
What are Jury Instructions or Charges?
Jury charges are the questions, instructions,
and definitions given to a jury by the judge in a case. They provide direction
and information to the jury regarding their deliberations. Often, pattern jury
charges are available to help guide attorneys and judges in crafting jury
instructions. Pattern jury charges are model jury charges designed to guide
judges and lawyers in formulating jury charges.[1] Along with model charge
text, they often include comments and references to major cases. The State Bar
of Texas produces its own set of model jury charges called Texas Pattern Jury
Charges (PJC), which are generally published on a two-year cycle.[2] Other Texas pattern jury
charges are produced by private companies.
But, despite
these pattern jury charges, research indicates that “[J]urors don’t understand
their instructions as well as they think they do, as well as judges, would like
to think they do or as well as we in Society might hope they do.”[3]
Why are Jurors Struggling with Jury Charges?
Why are jurors struggling
to understand their instructions despite the legal community’s best efforts?
Well, for starters, decisions may be rushed in the heat of trial, perceptions
too narrowed, or the law too confusing.[4] But other factors contribute
to the struggles of jurors as well such as legal language being too complex and
the average juror being a legal novice, relatively low average literacy levels,
jurors often relying on schemas, stereotypes or shortcuts, and the overall
timing of the instructions.[5]
Homing in on the
language used in jury instructions, it might be an easy assumption that
juries simply don't understand complex legal ideas and so they
simply discard them. While it has been found that jurors disregard instructions
when they are confused by them, it’s not because they don’t or cannot
understand the complex legal ideas.[6] Instead, linguistic
complexity is a greater contributor to poor understanding than the actual complexity
of the law, and when language is simplified comprehension improves.[7]
Why Should We Want Better, More Understandable Jury Instructions?
The first and obvious
reason why attorneys, judges, and society at large should all want better, more
understandable jury charges is the same reason why jury charges matter – the
charge is the last piece of guidance on law and procedure that
jurors are given. The charge will guide the jurors during deliberations in coming
to an ultimate decision.
Of course, all
attorneys want jurors to understand their instructions and apply the law correctly
to the facts. The same goes for judges. But it might be missed by attorneys and
judges in exactly how better jury instructions will help jurors when crafting
and giving jurors their instructions. Better written jury instructions have
been found to help jurors during their deliberations to effectively discuss
facts, evidence, and apply the law correctly to them.[8] Better and more clear
instructions also help reduce juror bias, reliance on stereotypes, and
overreliance on personal experience or possibly incorrect knowledge of the law.[9] Overall, lawyers and
judges have a vested interest in crafting better, more understandable jury
charges because better charges will lead to more legally accurate and fairer
outcomes.
Furthermore,
proper instructions should be a concern for society as a whole because of society's interest in a fair legal system and the impact the legal system still has on so
many. Despite the overall decline in jury trials, a significant number of
trials still take place across the country in state and federal courts. An estimated
148,558 jury trials occurred in state courts across the United States in 2007,
involving over a million jurors.[10] Poor jury charges or
instructions could cause jurors to misunderstand, misapply, or disregard the
law. Jury trials still have great impact and often decide the biggest issue in
a person’s life. Better instructions will help these jurors make the correct
decision in their trial based on a proper application of the law to the facts. Plus,
better and more understandable instructions will help juries more consistently apply
the law to cases based on the same claims or charges. More understandable instructions
will create a fairer legal system and protect citizens' constitutional rights by
creating a more consistent legal system.
Overall,
jury instructions are a vital part of the jury system. Instructions are often the
last piece of guidance jurors get before beginning their deliberations. Clear
instructions can be jurors’ compass or map to reach their decision, but confusing
instructions can dismantle much of what trial lawyers have built during the
trial. Attorneys, judges, and society will all benefit by taking the time to
craft instructions that will guide jurors instead of leaving them lost in the
woods.
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