Juries and Judges' Instructions

Purpose of Instructions

During a trial, the judge delivers relevant substantive and procedural instructions to jurors. Substantive instructions refer to laws that apply to the specific case at hand (e.g., the definition of firstand second-degree murder, manslaughter, sexual assault, and arson; relevant civil laws, etc.). Procedural instructions refer to the general duties of jurors and are relevant across cases (e.g., legal thresholds such as “reasonable doubt” in criminal cases or “clear and convincing evidence” in most civil cases in the United States, the decision rule to be used—either a unanimous or a majority decision, concepts such as burden of proof, etc.).

Development of Pattern Instructions

Historically in the United States, judges would create jury instructions on a case-by-case basis with input from the attorneys involved in the case. However, this process was time-consuming and led to frequent objections on the ground that the relevant law had been incorrectly explained to jurors. In addition, there was not always consistency in the instructions used in cases of a similar nature. Finally, there was concern that jurors did not understand the instructions they were presented with due to the complexity of the law and because judges were forced to focus their attention on delivering instructions that were legally accurate rather than on explaining the law in a manner that jurors could easily understand, to avoid having cases appealed.

To resolve these problems, prewritten “pattern jury instructions” were developed. Pattern instructions are instructions that have been preapproved by relevant sources (legislatures, state bars, commissions) and can be used repeatedly. In 1938, California was the first state to adopt a set of pattern instructions. This practice quickly spread to jurisdictions across the United States at both the state and the federal level.

Pattern instructions were efficient for judges to use, reduced the number of appeals due to the use of erroneous instructions, and successfully ensured that jurors in similar cases heard consistent instructions. However, a well-established body of social science research has demonstrated that jurors still have considerable difficulty in understanding the law when pattern instructions are used.

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