IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON
FOR THE COUNTY OF [COUNTY]
[PLAINTIFF],
v.
Plaintiff,
[DEFENDANT],
Defendant.
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CASE NO.
WRITTEN JURY INSTRUCTIONS
PRECAUTIONARY INSTRUCTIONS
Members of the jury, the law that applies to this case will be given to you in part
in these precautionary instructions. After you have heard the evidence and the
arguments of the attorneys, I will give you further instructions regarding the legal rules
that you must follow in deciding this case.
It will be your duty to decide from the evidence what the facts are. You, and you
alone, are the judges of the facts. You will hear the evidence, decide what the facts are,
and then apply those facts to the law that I will give you. That is how you will reach
your verdict. In doing so, you must follow the law whether you agree with it or not.
You must not decide this case based on personal feelings, sympathy, or prejudice.
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The evidence that you are to consider in this case consists of testimony of the
witnesses and those exhibits that are received in evidence. Exhibits are physical things
such as letters, photographs, charts, or physical objects. You may be able to examine the
exhibits while you deliberate. You may draw any reasonable inferences from the
evidence, but you must not engage in guesswork or speculation.
From time to time, an attorney may make an objection to evidence. I will decide
whether or not it is proper under the law for you to consider such evidence. Do not
speculate about why the objection was made or about why I ruled as I did. If I overrule
an objection, the question may be answered or the exhibit received. If I sustain an
objection, the question cannot be answered or the exhibit cannot be received. Whenever
I sustain an objection to a question, ignore the question and do not guess what the
answer would have been.
The opening statements and closing arguments of the attorneys are intended to
help you understand the evidence and apply the law to that evidence, although the
statements and arguments are not part of the evidence.
You must not interpret any statement, ruling, or remark I make during this trial
as an indication that the court has formed any opinion about the facts or outcome of this
case. You, and you alone, are to decide the facts. You must decide how believable the
evidence is and what weight or value you will give that evidence
You may take notes, if you wish, during the trial. However, please keep in mind
that each party is entitled to the considered decision of each juror. Therefore, during
deliberation, you should not give undue weight to another juror’s notes if those notes
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conflict with your recollection of the evidence. Do not allow your note-taking to
interfere with your ability to observe and evaluate testimony. When you leave at night,
your notes should be left in the jury room.
Do not discuss this case during the trial with anyone, including any of the
attorneys, parties, witnesses, your friends, or members of your family. Do not discuss
this case with other jurors until you begin your deliberations at the end of the case. Do
not attempt to decide the case until you begin your deliberations.
You must ignore any attempted improper communication. If any person tries to
talk to you about this case, tell that person that you cannot discuss the case because you
are a juror. If that person persists, simply walk away and report the incident to the
court.
You are not to make any independent personal investigations into any facts or
locations connected with this case. Do not look up any information in books or
dictionaries or utilize a computer, including the Internet, to investigate any aspect of
this case. Do not communicate any private or special knowledge about any of the facts
of this particular case to your fellow jurors. Decide the case only on the evidence
received here in court. Do not read any news stories or listen to any radio or television
reports about this case or about anyone who is involved in this case.
We will now hear the opening statements in which the attorneys will outline the
evidence as they expect it to be. After the opening statements, the evidence will be
presented. At the conclusion of the evidence, the attorneys will make their closing
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arguments to you. The court will then instruct you about the law that applies to this
case, and you will begin your deliberations.
At the end of the trial you will have to make your decision based upon what you
recall of the evidence. You will not have a written transcript to consult, and it will not
be possible for the reporter to read back testimony. I urge you to pay close attention to
the testimony as it is given.
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USE OF AN INTERPRETER
No matter what language people speak, they have the right to have their
testimony heard and understood. You are about to hear a trial in which an interpreter
will translate for one or more of the participants. The interpreter is required to remain
neutral. The interpreter is required to translate between English and Spanish accurately
and impartially to the best of the interpreter's skill and judgment.
You must evaluate interpreted testimony as you would any other testimony.
That is, you must not give interpreted testimony any greater or lesser weight than you
would if the witness had spoken English.
Keep in mind that a person might speak some English without speaking it
fluently. That person has the right to the service of an interpreter. Therefore, you shall
not give greater or lesser weight to a person's translated testimony based on your
conclusions, if any, regarding the extent to which that person speaks English.
FUNCTIONS OF THE COURT AND JURY
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It is your sole responsibility to make all the decisions about the facts in this case.
You must evaluate the evidence to determine how reliable or how believable that
evidence is. When you make your decision about the facts, you must then apply the
legal rules to those facts and reach your verdict.
Remember, however, that your power to reach a verdict is not arbitrary. When
the court tell you what the law is on a particular subject or tells you how to evaluate
certain evidence, you must follow these instructions.
Do not allow anything that the court has said or done during the course of this
trial to suggest that the court has formed any opinion about this case. Keep in mind that
the court is required by law to give certain instructions in every case.
When the court has sustained objections to evidence, or ordered that evidence be
stricken or excluded from your consideration, you must follow the court's rulings. Do
not consider such matters during your deliberations. Base your verdict on the evidence
and these instructions. The attorneys' statements and arguments are not evidence. If
your recollection of the evidence is different from the attorney's recollection, you must
rely on your own memory.
In deciding this case, you are to consider all the evidence that you find worthy of
belief. It is your duty to weigh the evidence calmly and dispassionately and to decide
this case on its merits. Do not allow bias, sympathy, or prejudice any place in your
deliberations; all parties are equal before the law. Do not decide this case on guesswork,
conjecture, or speculation.
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Generally, the testimony of any witness whom you believe is sufficient to prove
any fact in dispute. You are not simply to count the witnesses, but you are to weigh the
evidence.
Keep in mind that each party is entitled to the considered decision of each juror.
Therefore, you should not give undue weight to another juror's notes if those notes
conflict with your recollection of the evidence.
EVIDENCE
Evidence can come in many forms. It can be testimony about what someone saw
or heard or smelled. It can be an exhibit admitted into evidence. It can be someone's
opinion.
Some evidence may prove fact directly, such as testimony of a witness who saw a
jet plane fly across the sky. Some evidence may provide a fact indirectly, such as
testimony of a witness who saw only a white trail that jet planes often leave. This
indirect evidence is sometimes referred to as "circumstantial evidence." Either way, the
witness's testimony is evidence that a jet plane flew across the sky.
As far as the law is concerned, it makes no difference whether evidence is direct
or indirect. You may choose to believe or disbelieve either kind. Whether it is direct or
indirect, you should give all evidence whatever weight you think it deserves.
EVALUATING WITNESS TESTIMONY
The term witness includes every person who has testified in this case. Every
witness has taken an oath to tell the truth. You may believe everything a witness says,
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or part of it, or none of it. In considering the testimony of any witness, you may take
into account:
1.
The opportunity and ability of the witness to see, hear, or know about the
things the witness told you.
2.
The witness's memory.
3.
The witness's manner while testifying.
4.
The witness's interest in the outcome of the case and any bias or prejudice.
5.
Whether other evidence contradicted the witness's testimony.
6.
The reasonableness of the witness's testimony in light of all the evidence.
EXPERT WITNESS
An expert witness may give an opinion on any matter in which that witness has
special knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education.
You should consider the qualifications and credibility of the expert witness and
the reasons given for the opinion. You are not bound by the opinion. Give it the weight,
if any, to which you consider it entitled.
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PLEADINGS AND ISSUES
The questions to be decided in a lawsuit are defined in certain formal papers
filed in court by the parties and known collectively as the pleadings. These consist of
the Plaintiff's complaint, which sets forth the Plaintiff's claims as to the facts; the
Defendant's answer, in which the Defendant either admits or denies the various claims
of the Plaintiff and sets forth any additional claims or defenses on which the Defendant
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relies; and the Plaintiff's reply, in which the Plaintiff admits or denies the various claims
or defenses in the Defendant's answer. By these pleadings, questions of fact are
presented and it is these questions and only these that are submitted for the jury's
determination.
PLEADINGS NOT EVIDENCE
What I have just read is merely a summary of the pleadings. You are not to take
anything in them as true unless it is admitted or proved by the evidence.
BURDEN OF PROOF
A party must prove any claim that party has made. This is called the burden of
proof.
In this case, the Plaintiff must prove her claim by a preponderance of the
evidence.
PREPONDERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE
When a party must prove a claim by a preponderance of the evidence, that party
must persuade you by the evidence that makes you believe the claim is more likely than
not true.
After weighing all of the evidence, if you cannot decide that something is more
likely true than not true, you must conclude that the party did not prove it. You should
consider all of the evidence, no matter who produced it.
In criminal trials, the state must prove that the person charged with a crime is
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That is not the standard to use in this civil trial.
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Instead, the party who is required to prove something by a preponderance of the
evidence only has to prove that it is more likely true than not true.
FAULT/NEGLIGENCE ADMITTED – INJURY DENIED
The Defendant has admitted negligence and admits that such negligence caused
the accident. The issue for you to determine is whether the Plaintiff sustained any injury
in this accident and, if so, the amount of damages to be awarded to the Plaintiff.
ABILITY TO PAY
The jury is not to consider whether any of the parties in this action has insurance
or the ability to pay for any liability, loss, damage, or injury. Whether any party has
insurance or the ability to pay has no bearing on the issues that you are to decide.
DAMAGES – PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTION
You must decide whether the Plaintiff has been damaged and, if so, the amount
of her damages.
The fact that I am instructing you with respect to damages is not to be considered
by you as an attempt by the court to suggested that you should or should not award
damages.
There are two types of damages alleged in this case, economic and noneconomic.
Of these two types of damages, you should consider those which you find have
been sustained by the Plaintiff as a result of the Defendant's negligence.
The Plaintiff must prove economic and noneconomic damages by a
preponderance of the evidence.
I will now explain what are economic and noneconomic damages.
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DAMAGES – NONECONOMIC (IN THIS SUBJECT TO ORS 31.710)
Noneconomic damages are the subjective, nonmonetary losses that a Plaintiff has
sustained or probably will sustain in the future.
The law does not furnish you with any fixed standard by which to measure the
exact amount of noneconomic damages. However, the law requires that all damages
awarded be reasonable. You must apply your own considered judgment, therefore, to
determine the amount of noneconomic damages.
In determining the amount of noneconomic damages, if any, consider each of the
following:
1.
The pain, mental suffering, emotional distress, humiliation that the
Plaintiff has sustained from the time she was injured until the present and that the
Plaintiff probably will sustain into the future as a result of her injuries.
2.
Any inconvenience and interference with the Plaintiff's normal and usual
activities apart from activities in gainful occupation that you find have been sustained
from the time she was injured until the present and that the Plaintiff probably will
sustain in the future as the result of her injuries.
The amount of noneconomic damages may not exceed the sum of $85,000.
DAMAGES – ECONOMIC (IN THIS SUBJECT TO ORS 31.170)
Economic damages are the objectively verifiable monetary losses that the
Plaintiff has incurred or will probably incur. In determining the amount of economic
damages, if any, consider:
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1.
The reasonable value of necessary medical, rehabilitative and other health
care and services for treatment of the Plaintiff.
The total amount of economic damages may not exceed the sum of $10,301.00.
DAMAGES – LIFE EXPECTANCY – MORTALITY TABLES
If you find that the Plaintiff is entitled to recover for permanent injury, you must
determine the Plaintiff's probable life expectancy, taking into consideration all evidence
bearing on that issue, such as the Plaintiff's occupation, sex, health, habits, and
activities. Life expectancy shown by the mortality tables is an estimate of the probable
average remaining life of all persons in our country of a given age. According to the
standard mortality tables, the life expectancy of a woman aged 19 years is an additional
61.6 years. This is a fact you may consider in arriving at the amount of damages.
VERDICT (FOR USE WITH GENERAL VERDICT FORMS)
When you return to the jury room, select one of your members to act as
presiding juror. The presiding juror is to participate like all other jurors and has no
greater weight or voice than any other juror. After selecting your presiding juror,
deliberate until you reach your verdict. You may conduct your deliberations any way
you wish, but most juries find it helpful to discuss the evidence before taking any votes.
You will have the following verdict form with you in the jury room: [read verdict
form]
Answer the questions according to the directions on the form and all the
instructions of the court.
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This is a civil case. At least the same nine jurors must agree on each answer
unless the verdict form instructs you otherwise as to a particular question. When you
have answered each question you are required to answer, your presiding juror should
insert the answers on the verdict form, sign and date the verdict form, and then signal
the clerk.
Court will then reconvene and receive your verdict.
WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS
The court has prepared written instructions for your use. When you use these
written instructions, do not place undue emphasis on any particular instruction, but
rather consider the instructions as a whole.
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