Category Archives: Jury Instructions

Plain Language Honey Pot.

08 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by in Brief Writing, Editing, Fonts, Jury Instructions, Legal Writing, Legalese, Precedent, Readability

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Legal Examples, PlainLanguage.gov

http://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/legal/

I have noticed that posts here on legal writing, legalese, and plain language are always popular. Here is a treat for you plain language lovers – a mixed bag of excellent plain language examples of legal writing. They include Pennsylvania’s statute requiring plain language for contracts, California’s plain language jury instructions, Martin Cutt’s classic, Lucid Law, and my personal favorites – two fantastic articles by Judge Mark P. Painter.

Once you click on this link and go to the website, you will see buttons that will take you to other plain language examples, resources, and tips. Enjoy! -CCE

New And Amended Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions – Juvenile.

13 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by in Jury Instructions, Legal Writing, Oklahoma Supreme Court

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Order Adopting New and Amended Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions and Verdict Forms – Juvenile.

http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=475710

On June 8, 2015, The Oklahoma Supreme Court published its new and amended Uniform Jury Instructions and Verdict Forms – Juvenile. The District Courts of the State of Oklahoma are to implement these instructions effective thirty days from the date of the Order. -CCE

 

Plain English Jury Instructions Are Like A Breath of Fresh Air After A Long Trial.

24 Tuesday Mar 2015

Posted by in Jury Instructions, Jury Instructions, Jury Persuasion, Legal Writing, Legalese, Plain Language, Readability, Trial Tips and Techniques

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Embrace Plain English Jury Instructions, by Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm, Persuasive Litigator

http://www.persuasivelitigator.com/2015/03/embrace-plain-english-instructions-and-plain-english-persuasion.html

I often play the role of the ‘judge’ during a mock trial. In that capacity, I have the pleasure of reading the legal instructions to the mock jurors just before they deliberate. While I’m droning on about ‘preponderance,’ and ‘proximate cause,’ and making the plaintiff ‘whole,’ I am often met with quizzical looks as the jurors grapple with the language. Some have even made a vain attempt to raise their hands to ask a question. I sometimes wish I could explain, ‘Look, my point is not for you to understand this… it is just to be realistic.’ And, too often, what is realistic is for the instructions to be dense at best and incomprehensible at worst. ’Jury instructions are written by lawyers,’ the American Judicature Society points out, ‘and are often filled with legal language whose meaning is not apparent to those without legal training.’ . . .

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In Legal Writing, Why Less Really Is More. Really, Really.

13 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by in Appellate Writing, Bad Legal Writing, Brief Writing, Editing, Jury Instructions, Legal Argument, Legal Writing, Readability, Statement of Facts, Summary of the Argument

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Less is more. Really. by Raymond Ward, the (new) legal writer blog

http://tinyurl.com/l94vnyd

If you really have the goods, modesty is more effective than piling it on. Mark Herrmann explains this principle.

Federal Judges Writing Manual.

17 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by in Federal Judges, Judges, Jury Instructions, Legal Analysis, Legal Writing, Statutory Interpretation, Style Manuals, Trial Tips and Techniques

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Judicial Writing Manual, Federal Judicial Center

http://tinyurl.com/k5x898o

This Writing Manual is obviously written specifically for federal judges. Twenty-four experienced jurists were interviewed to write the Manual.  Its board of editors are judges, law professors, and legal writers. Although written for federal judges, it provides insight for any legal writer, especially those who practice in federal court. The Manual is available in print or you can download it as a .pdf document.

This is more. Look at the left-hand side of the page, and click on “Recent Materials“: http://tinyurl.com/odjltbl. From there, it just gets better. At this link you will find papers on specific areas of law. One that caught my eye is Meghan Dunn’s “Jurors’ and Attorneys’ Use of Social Media During Voir Dire, Trials, and Deliberations: A Report to the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management.”  It is available only online.

Even if you do not practice in federal court, this is definitely worth a look. -CCE

Lots and Lots of Jury Instructions.

29 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by in Jury Instructions, Jury Instructions, Jury Persuasion, Legal Writing, Trial Tips and Techniques

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The Language Of Jury Instructions, by Peter Meijes Tiersma, LanguageandLaw.org

http://tinyurl.com/qy9z2rv

Lots of information and examples on jury instructions, including a Manual on Communicating with Juries, links to criminal and civil jury instructions, to plain language jury instructions, to jury instructions for specific states, and more. If you need help writing jury instructions, this would be a good place to start. -CCE

Plain Language Jury Instructions.

31 Saturday May 2014

Posted by in Jury Instructions, Legal Writing, Legalese, Plain Language

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Plain Language and Jury Instructions, PlainLanguage.gov

http://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/before_after/jury.cfm

Most jury instructions — long winded collections of complex sentences, arcane definitions and Talmudic distinctions — are all but impenetrable to lay people. So bad are some jury instructions that Court TV Anchor and former Prosecutor Nancy Grace reports having seen jurors turn to one another while listening to instructions and mouth the question, ‘What are they saying?’

Echoing such observations was a recent description in The National Law Journal of a judge who told jurors that a murder conviction required ‘malice aforethought.’ Unfortunately though, the jury interpreted this instruction to mean that the murder had to be committed with a mallet.

Many studies support anecdotal criticism of legalese jury instructions. For example:

• Forty percent of capital jurors wrongly believed that their jury instructions required them to accompany a conviction with a death sentence, according to a study by the Northeastern University’s Capital Jury Project.

• More than fifty percent of jurors defined ‘preponderance of the evidence’ as a ‘slow and careful pondering of the evidence,’ according to a study of Washington DC jurors. The same study found that more than 50 percent of jurors could not define ‘speculate,’ and about 25 percent did not know the meaning of ‘burden of proof,’ ‘impeach’ or ‘admissible evidence.’ . . .