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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.

In a criminal case, the burden of proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt. In civil cases, the burden of proof is by a preponderance of the evidence. The judge will explain what these terms mean for a given case in the jury instructions.

A party must persuade you, by the evidence presented in court, that what he or she is required to prove is more likely to be true than not true. This is referred to as "the burden of proof."

The standard of proof in a criminal trial gives the prosecutor a much greater burden than the plaintiff in a civil trial. The defendant must be found guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt,” which means the evidence must be so strong that there is no reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime.

How are South Carolina Jury Members Selected? A jury is chosen from a pool of randomly selected people in a process called voir dire. During voir dire, the judge, prosecution, and defense ask potential jurors questions to assess their suitability to hear a case.

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 "beyond reasonable doubt" standard, used by criminal juries in the United States to determine guilt for a crime, also contrasts with probable cause which courts hold requires an unquantified level of proof well above that of probable cause's 51%.

Jury instructions are instructions for jury deliberation that are written by the judge and given to the jury. At trial, jury deliberation occurs after evidence is presented and closing arguments are made.

(1) Members of the jury, now it is time for me to instruct you about the law you must follow in deciding this case. (2) I will start by explaining your duties and the general rules that apply in every criminal case. (3) Then I will explain the elements of the crimes that the defendant is accused of committing.