Additional Instructions to the Jury

Jury Deliberations:  Guilt Phase

November 8, 2004

JUDGE: And, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I'm going to read a few additional instructions to you. You heard these instructions before. And I want to point out to you that the integrity of the trial requires that jurors at all times during their deliberations conduct themselves as required by these instructions. And I'm going to give you these shortly. Please bear that in mind.

Okay, we have been here for five and a half months, and now you are going in a deliberative process, so I'm going to read these instructions to you again. You have heard all the evidence and the arguments of the attorneys, and now it is my duty to instruct you on the law that applies to this case. The law requires that I read the instructions to you. You will have these instructions in written form in the jury room to refer to during your deliberations.

You must base your decision on the facts and the law. You have two duties to perform. First, you must determine what facts have been proved from the evidence received in the trial and not from any other source. A fact is something proved by the evidence or by stipulation. A stipulation is an agreement between attorneys regarding the facts.

Second, you must apply the law that I state to you to the facts as you determine them and, in this way, arrive at your verdict and any finding you are instructed to include in your verdict. You must accept and follow the law as I state it to you, regardless of whether you agree with it. If anything concerning the law said by the attorneys in their arguments or at any other time during the trial conflicts with my instructions on the law, you must follow my instructions.

You must not be influenced by pity for or prejudice against a defendant. You must not be biased against a defendant because he has been arrested for this offense, charged with a crime, or brought to trial. None of these circumstances is evidence of guilt, and you must not infer or assume from any or all of them that the defendant is more likely to be guilty than not guilty. You must not be influenced by sentiment, conjecture, sympathy, passion, prejudice, public opinion, or public feeling. Both the people and the defendant have a right to expect that you will conscientiously consider and weigh the evidence, apply the law, and reach a just verdict regardless of the consequences.

The People and the Defendant are entitled to the individual opinion of each juror. Each of you must consider the evidence for the purpose of reaching a verdict if you can do so. Each of you must decide the case for yourself, but should do so only after discussing the evidence and instructions with the other jurors. Do not hesitate to change a opinion if you are convinced that it is wrong. However, do not decide any question in a particular way because a majority of the jurors, or any of them, favor that decision. Do not decide any issue in this case by the flip of a coin or by any other chance determination.

This is important for you now. The attitude and conduct of jurors at all times are very important. It is rarely helpful for a juror at the beginning of deliberations to express an emphatic opinion on the case, or to announce a determination to stand for a certain verdict. When one does that at the outset, a sense of pride may be aroused, and one may hesitate to change a position even if shown it is wrong. Remember you are not partisans or advocates in this matter. You are impartial judges of the facts. Okay?

I'm going to send you back in the jury room.