Understanding Jury Instructions
Jury instructions identify the basic elements of civil claims, criminal charges, and defenses, with accompanying citations to relevant cases, statutes, and secondary sources (including forms).
They can help you:
- Understand the basic elements and find the underlying law.
- Set out the basic elements of a case or defense in a complaint, demurrer, or other pleading.
- And, of course, instruct a jury.
Most courts publish official jury instructions, also called model or pattern jury instructions. These instructions provide you with valuable insight into the courts' view of the law but do not cover every scenario and typically need to be modified to fit the facts of the specific case.
Both Lexis and Westlaw provide treatises with guidance on modifying instructions, unofficial model instructions for specific scenarios, and databases of jury instructions from real cases.
California Jury Instructions
California has two major sets of model jury instructions.
- Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) (prounounced "Casey") and Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (CALCRIM) are the official jury instructions published by the California State Judicial Council. They are the default jury instructions the judge will use in court, unless you successfully request alternate jury instructions.
- BAJI (Book of Approved Jury Instructions- Civil) and CALJIC (California Jury Instructions, Criminal) were published by the Los Angeles Superior Court from the 1930s to early 2000s but are now published by West. Never officially endorsed, they have since been superseded by the official CACI and CALCRIM instructions.
Both Matthew Bender (Lexis) and West (Westlaw) publish treatises that provide guidance on adapting the model instructions for use in real cases.
- Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI)Call Number: 1st Floor/Reference KFC1047.A65 C35Official California civil jury instructions.
- Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (CALCRIM)Call Number: 1st Floor/Reference KFC1171.A65 S812Official California criminal jury instructions.
- BAJI California Jury Instructions, CivilCall Number: 1st Floor/Reference KFC1047.A65 S8Unofficial California civil jury instructions.
- CALJIC California Jury Instructions, CriminalCall Number: 1st Floor/Reference KFC1171.A65 S8Unofficial California criminal jury instructions.
- California Forms of Jury InstructionCall Number: 2nd floor/California collection KFC1047.A65 C34 2003Official CACI civil jury instructions, plus unofficial suggested jury instructions and verdict forms for scenarios not covered by the official instructions.
- California Civil Jury Instruction Companion HandbookCall Number: 2nd floor/California collection KFC1047.A65 C343Companion handbook to the official CACI civil jury instructions, with guidance on applying jury instructions in real cases.
- California Criminal Jury Instruction Companion HandbookCall Number: 2nd floor/California collection KFC1171.A65 C348Companion handbook to the official CALCRIM criminal jury instructions, with guidance on applying jury instructions in real cases.
- CJER Mandatory Criminal Jury Instructions HandbookCall Number: 2nd floor/California collection KFC1171.Z9 C3
- California State Jury Instruction FilingsLexis database of jury instructions filed in real California state court cases.
- Trial Court Documents- Jury Instruction FilingsWestlaw database of jury instructions filed in real state and federal civil cases.
Federal Jury Instructions
Most federal circuits, including the Ninth Circuit, produce optional model or pattern jury instructions. Both Matthew Bender (Lexis) and West (Westlaw) publish treatises that include the full text of the model or pattern jury instructions, with extensive guidance on adapting them for use in real cases.
- Manual of Model Criminal Jury Instructions for the Ninth CircuitCall Number: Main stacks KF9682.A65 M36
- Manual of Model Civil Jury Instructions for the Ninth CircuitCall Number: Main stacks KF8984 .M36 2007
- Modern Federal Jury Instructions- CivilCall Number: Main stacks KF8984 .M64 1984Guidance on adapting model federal jury instructions for use in real cases. Includes the full text of the Ninth Circuit Model Jury Instructions and model and pattern jury instructions for other circuits.
- Modern Federal Jury Instructions- CriminalCall Number: Main stacks KF8984 .M64 1984Guidance on adapting model federal jury instructions for use in real cases. Includes the full text of the Ninth Circuit Model Jury Instructions and model and pattern jury instructions for other circuits.
- Federal Jury Practice & InstructionsCall Number: Main stacks KF8984 .D4 2000Guidance on adapting model federal jury instructions for use in real cases. Includes the full text of the Ninth Circuit Model Jury Instructions and model and pattern jury instructions for other circuits.
- Federal Jury Practice and Instructions. Civil Companion HandbookCall Number: Main stacks KF8984 .F43Examples of model federal jury instructions adapted for real cases. Each example provides the factual background and materials from the case, along with the full text of the actual jury instructions used in the case.
- Federal Jury Practice and Instructions. Criminal Companion HandbookCall Number: Main stacks KF9682 .F46Examples of model federal jury instructions adapted for real cases. Each example provides the factual background and materials from the case, along with the full text of the actual jury instructions used in the case.
Multi-jurisdictional Jury Instructions
Several publishers offer model jury instructions for specific practice areas.
Most notably, the ABA produces a series of model jury instructions on specific topics, some of which are available on a case by case basis on Westlaw or Lexis. Bender also produces a series of jury instructions on specific topics, available on Lexis.
- American Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms AnnotatedCall Number: Main stacks KF8836 .A45 1966Publication Date: Last updated 2015 in print; Current on WestlawOver 44,000 forms, arranged alphabetically by topic, including sample jury instructions.
- Jury Instructions on Products LiabilityCall Number: Main stacks KF8984 .E23 2006
- Jury Instructions on Medical IssuesCall Number: Main stacks KF8984.A65 A4 2004
- Jury Instructions in Commercial LitigationCall Number: Main stacks KF8984 .E18 2002
- Jury Instructions in Automobile AccidentsCall Number: Main stacks KF8925.T7 E33 2001
Other State and Circuit Specific Jury Instructions
LLRX and the Seventh Circuit law library have compiled directories of free, official jury instructions available online.
Additionally, Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg all provide access to official and unofficial jury instructions from multiple states and federal circuits.
- Reference from Coast to Coast: Jury InstructionsLLRX index to state jury instructions available online, last updated 2007.
- Federal Pattern Jury InstructionsIndex to federal circuit and district jury instructions available for free online, maintained by the Seventh Circuit library.
