Judge John L. Kane (D. Colo.) has written an excellent article on jury instructions. He addresses not only their content (plain English, please), but also the processes for creating and using them. His ideas are not in wide use in the courts I’m familiar with. After reading his article, I hope that changes.
The article is in the Winter 2010 issue of Litigation (ABA Litigation Section), but anyone can download a free PDF copy by clicking here.
I had just read this article when I began monitoring a two-week jury trial. Sadly, Judge Kane's ideas were foreign to the trial court--and the jury. They were bored to tears and had nothing to help them understand the ultimate legal import of the interminable testimony.
Posted by: Aaron | 18 May 2010 at 08:37 PM