ResearchGuides: Jury Instructions Research Guide: Jury Instructions in General

Finding Jury Instructions

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Jury Instructions in General

The following selected titles and articles may provide an overview of jury instructions in general and also provide an evolutionary look at jury instructions.

American Jurisprudence 2d by West
Call Number: KF154 .A42

Available online...
Nexis Uni;
Lexis (subscription database);
Westlaw (subscription database)

Publication Date: 1962-

AmJur is a legal encyclopedia arranged alphabetically by subject. The "Instructions to Jury" entry in the general index provides direction to the "Trial" subject entry (see 75A Am.Jur. 2d §§920-1253).
American Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms Annotated by Bancroft-Whitney Company
Call Number: KF8868.1 A43

Publication Date: 1966-

This set includes state and federal forms.
Complaints, motions and interrogatories are among the litigation forms included which are arranged by subject.
Forms, including form drafting guides, sample forms, practice aids and a detailed index, are also included.
Finally, see 23B AmJur Pleading and Practice Forms Annotated §§192-353 for sample jury instructions.
American Jurisprudence Trials by West
Call Number: KF8915 .A74

Publication Date: 1967-

Encyclopedic guide to practices, techniques and tactics used in preparing and trying cases. Index includes "Instructions to Jury."
See 6 AmJur Trials 923 for article titled "Instructing the Jury - Pattern Jury Instructions"
The American Jury System by Randolph N. Jonakait
Call Number: KF8972 .J66 2003

Publication Date: 2003

Includes a chapter on jury instructions
Corpus Juris Secundum by Arnold O. Ginnow and Milorak Nikolic
Call Number: KF154 .C671

Available online...
Westlaw

CJS is a legal encyclopedia arranged alphabetically by subject. The "Instructions to Jury" entry in the general index provides direction to the "Trial" subject entry.
See 89 C.J.S. §§ 573-924.
Jury Instructions: An Underutilized Resource by Ellen Platt
Publication Date: 1999

Article describes sources for jury instructions, how instructions are drafted and how the underutilized resource could be introduced into the law school curriculum.
7 Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing 90 (1999)
Jury Instructions: A Primer for Young Lawyers by Frederick D. Williams
Publication Date: 1996

Article in periodical, For the Defense, provides an overview of the importance of jury instructions and covers the need for careful research and drafting of instructions.
38 For the Defense 28 (1996) is available in the Marquette University Law Library
The Law of Instructions to Juries in Civil and Criminal Cases: Rules and a Complete Collection of Approved and Annotated Forms by Edward R. Branson; 3d ed. by A. H. Reid; Replacement by William Samore
Call Number: KF8984 .B73 1960

Publication Date: 1960; 2004 Supp.

Alternate title: Reid's Branson Instructions to Juries in Civil and Criminal Cases
This multi-volume set is a collection of instructions which have been scrutinized by appellate courts. Includes a table of cases and index
The Litigation Manual: Jury Trials by Weyman I. Lundquist and Alyson Pytte, editors
Call Number: KF8972 .L58 2008

Publication Date: 2008

Includes a section on instructing the jury which covers drafting instructions, charge conferences and the court's reading of instructions
Making Jury Instructions Understandable by Amiram Elwork, Bruce D. Sales, James J. Alfini
Call Number: KF8984 .E37 1982

Publication Date: 1982

This book looks at the problem of incomprehensible jury instructions and the resulting movement to standardize instructions. Pattern jury instructions debuted in the 1930s but the problem with instructions not being understandable and easy for jurors to use remained. The book describes the techniques that should be used for drafting instructions.