Jury Instructions: What Attorneys Need to Know

Jury instructions are one of the most common issues challenged during and after a jury trial. Problems often arise from misleading, inaccurate, or irrelevant statements, all of which can impact the verdict. Historically, appeals have often focused on errors in instructions, particularly when verbose, complex language left jurors confused.¹

Drafting jury instructions that are phrased fairly for your client can provide a judge with proposed language that supports your case during deliberations, but that’s not the only reason to write them. Framing jury instructions early can also help shape case strategy and tighten your legal arguments.

Key takeaways:

• Draft jury instructions early: Preparing instructions at the outset of a case can help guide discovery, motions, and overall trial strategy.
• Start with pattern jury instructions: Use jurisdiction-specific model instructions as a foundation, and draft special instructions when existing patterns don’t fully address the applicable law or case-specific issues.
• Prioritize clarity and legal accuracy: Write instructions in plain, neutral language that jurors can understand, and verify that they reflect current statutes and case law.
• Preserve objections for appeal: During the charge conference, raise specific objections to proposed instructions on the record to help preserve potential claims of error.

What Are Jury Instructions? 

While judges offer guidance to juries multiple times during a trial, including preliminary instructions before opening statements, this article focuses on final instructions, often called the jury charge. These are typically given to the jury at the very end of the trial, after closing arguments and before deliberations, but in some jurisdictions, the judge can instruct the jury before closing arguments, or both before and after.

Final jury instructions include the legal standards that apply to the case and guidance for the jury’s deliberation. Judges are responsible for delivering them, but both parties can submit proposed instructions for the trial court’s consideration before the judge decides which language the jury hears.

Proposed jury instructions must accurately state the law and, like arguments and witness questioning during trial, should be easy for the average juror to understand. 

Why Draft Instructions Early, Not at Trial

Drafting instructions at the outset of a case provides legal teams with an effective roadmap for trial preparation. Proposed instructions can be instrumental in: 

• Discovery
• Dispositive motions
• Directed verdict arguments

Pattern/Model Instructions vs. Special Instructions 

Many jurisdictions have created model jury instructions, also called standard or pattern jury instructions, in part to reduce the rate of appeals based on jury instruction errors. These templates are generally approved by a court, bench committee, or bar association. They’re intended to provide accurate, clear, and unbiased instructions, which should, in theory, make them highly resistant to appeals.

When to Use Pattern Instructions

Pattern (or model) instructions should always be your starting point when drafting. If an existing model instruction accurately covers your claim or defense and correctly applies the law, a court may encourage² and, in some jurisdictions, require its use.³

Pattern instructions are organized by jurisdiction and case topic, including⁴:

• Federal Circuit Courts: Civil and/or criminal patterns for federal jury trials are available online from the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th Circuits, and some district courts publish their own.
  
• State: Many states publish model jury instructions for civil and criminal trials that include substantive topics in addition to procedural and general boilerplate language. For example, California’s Judicial Council publishes official civil and criminal jury instructions for use in that state’s courts.

• Topic-Specific Instructions: Model instructions are available for specific practice areas, including automobile actions, negligence, damages in tort actions, business torts, contract and business cases, employment, construction, medical, real estate, securities litigation, intellectual property, patent, copyright, trademark, and trade dress.

A law library research guide is a good place to find these resources and can point you to the current version for your jurisdiction.

When to Draft Special Instructions 

When no pattern instruction fully and accurately covers the exact details of your case, special instructions can fill those gaps. Special instructions may be submitted when:

• There is no available pattern instruction for the claim you’re making or defense you’re using.
• The applicable pattern isn’t up to date based on recent changes in statutory or case law.
• The facts of your particular case call for instructions on specific legal issues that the general pattern doesn’t address.

How to Draft Instructions for Clarity and Accuracy 

When drafting proposed jury instructions, keep in mind they need to serve both the immediate audience of the judge (and opposing attorney) and the ultimate audience of lay jurors. Prepare your rationale and supporting statutes or case law, with citations for each instruction, especially when presenting special or modified instructions. 

When writing each instruction, use this checklist¹: 

• Use plain language over legal jargon.
• Write short sentences in active voice.
• Clearly define any unfamiliar or ambiguous terms.
• Use a neutral, non-argumentative tone while framing issues fairly for your client.
• Include only relevant information supported by the evidence in the record.
• Avoid repetition.

Although pattern instructions are intended to be authoritative sources, they may be imperfect or out of date. Check each pattern’s revision date, then verify current statutes and case law rather than assuming that a pattern instruction or opposing counsel’s proposed instruction accurately states the law.

Common Instruction Disputes 

Both the judge and opposing counsel will carefully consider proposed instructions at a formal charge conference. Any objections should be made on the record there, including the specific grounds, usually before the instructions are given to the jury. An objection that isn’t preserved is often waived or reviewed only for plain error, which is a difficult standard to meet^.5

Common areas of dispute include: 

• Inconsistent party labels in cases with cross-claims or counterclaims
• Instructions that misstate the burden of proof (what a party must prove and to what standard)
• Verdict forms that don’t match the instructions

How Litigation Support Helps 

When drafted early and checked against current law, jury instructions can shape discovery, motions, and trial strategy, all while reducing the risk of reversal. For the best outcome, start with jurisdiction-specific pattern instructions, prepare to defend any special instructions, write with the average juror in mind, and work with an experienced trial support services provider.

Partnering with U.S. Legal Support eases the burden on legal teams. Our court reporting services can accurately capture the charge conference, including objections and rulings, and our trial presentation specialists can produce demonstratives that help attorneys explain instruction details, like the burden of proof, to jurors.

Reach out today to connect with us on your litigation support needs.

Sources: 

1. Cornell Law School. Jury Instructions. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/jury_instructions
2. Judicial Council of California. California Rules of Court, Rule 2.1050: Judicial Council Jury Instructions. https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/two/rule2_1050 
3. Illinois Supreme Court. Rule 239: Instructions. https://rulesofcivilprocedure.com/il/supreme-court-rules/rule-239/
4. University of Illinois Chicago, Louis L. Biro Law Library. Form Finder: Jury Instructions. https://libraryguides.law.uic.edu/c.php?g=261776&p=1750753
5. Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 51: Instructions to the Jury; Objections; Preserving a Claim of Error. https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_51

Julie Shepherd

Julie Shepherd is the Senior Vice President of Marketing & Sales Operations at U.S. Legal Support where she leads innovative marketing initiatives. With a proven track record in the legal industry, Julie previously served at Abacus Data Systems (now Caret Legal) where she played a pivotal role in providing cutting-edge technology platforms and services to legal professionals nationwide.