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Jurors, you have the most important role in this trial, because you are the ones who must decide who and what to believe, and answer each of the questions that I have discussed with you. You must decide this case based only on the evidence presented at the trial. You may not decide this case based on anything else.

How do I find jury instructions? First, click on Secondary Sources under the Content Types tab on the main Westlaw Edge page. Then, click on Jury Instructions.

To find other books on jury instructions, search in the Library's catalog, for subjects: "Instructions to Juries (State)" or Instructions to Juries United States" for federal publications. Both Lexis and Westlaw have a folder of databases on jury instructions.

For jury instructions to be effective, they must be clear and simple. Sentences should be short; instruc- • tions should contain no more than a few sentences, cover only one topic, and be directly related to the circumstances of the case (they should not be abstract statements of the law).

The answer is simple: The law doesn't allow it. The lengthy instructions, which the judge read to jurors right before they started deliberating, are meant to serve as a road map and to help them apply the relevant law to the facts as they have found them.

Either before or after the closing arguments by the lawyers, the judge will explain the law that applies to the case to you. This is the judge's instruction to the jury. You have to apply that law to the facts, as you have heard them, in arriving at your verdict.

What are Jury Instructions? Jury instructions tell the jury what the laws are that govern a particular case. Each attorney gives the judge a set of proposed jury instructions. The judge considers each instruction and gives the one that properly states the law that applies to the case.

About Court Rules and Jury Instructions They include required procedures for commencing actions, time limitations, rules for parties, motions, and trials, and other directives in civil and criminal actions and proceedings.

The judge will instruct the jury in each separate case as to the law of that case. For example, in each criminal case, the judge will tell the jury, among other things, that a defendant charged with a crime is presumed to be innocent and the burden of proving his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is upon the Government.