Jury Instructions for the Modern Age
Alabama – Civil: Modern; Criminal: No Instructions Civil Instructions Alabama’s Pattern Jury Instructions Committee recently approved changes to the state’s civil instructions telling jurors to not discuss or investigate cases, to also admonish against the use of the Internet and social media.97 Until you have heard all of the evidence in the case and have received my instructions, you must not talk about the case with anyone or let anyone talk about it with you. You must keep an open mind and not decide the case until I tell you to decide the case. You must not discuss the case among yourselves or with anyone until the case is over. This means that you must not discuss the case in person, in writing, on the phone, or on the Internet. You must not “tweet,” “blog,” or communicate by any other means, anything about the case during the trial and deliberations. If members of your family or friends or anyone else asks you about the case, you should tell them that the judge told you not to discuss it. The lawyers, parties and witnesses are not allowed to talk to you, and you can’t talk to them during the trial. Even a conversation that has nothing to do with the case would look bad. If the participants in the trial fail to greet you or talk with you during the trial, it is because of this rule.98 *** You must decide this case based upon the evidence presented in court and the law I give you. No juror should attempt to make an individual investigation of the facts, the law, or of the location(s) testified about. You cannot gather evidence or research the law for yourself or anybody else. You must not investigate the facts, the law, or any party, or witness, on the Internet or otherwise, [visit the scene of the accident] [attempt to inspect or examine any object or property unless that object or property has been received in evidence and the inspection is made in the court room or in the jury room]. We have learned that some jurors in other cases have tried to research the law or the facts of a case so they can learn more about the case they are hearing. A juror cannot consider facts that are not in evidence. If there is anything about this case or similar cases in the news media or on the Internet, you must not read, listen to, or watch the report. Do not use the Internet or any other method to investigate any aspect of the case. This is because your verdict must be based only on the legal evidence that is presented in the courtroom. Any juror misconduct can cause your verdict to be thrown out. If you learn that any juror has violated this instruction, you must tell me or one of the attendants about it.99
The state’s provision regarding jurors consulting outside materials has also been revised to bar Internet research. There may be some words or phrases or terms used in the trial of the case that need to be defined. The Court will give to you the proper definition of these words or terms. The legal definition may be different from that which you customarily give them. If this should happen, you must accept the Court’s definition. In no event should you seek any definition of any word or phrase by consulting any book, dictionary, encyclopedia, the Internet, or any other source. It would be highly improper for you to do so.100
97. See Diane Babb Maughan, 12 Jurors and the Internet, Birmingham Bar Ass’n. Bull., Summer 2010, at 9, available at http://www.birminghambar.org/docs/bulletin-summer2010.pdf. 98. Ala. Pattern Jury Instr., Civ. 1.11 (2nd ed. 2010). 99. Ala. Pattern Jury Instr. Civ. 1.125 (2d ed. 2009). 100. Ala. Pattern Jury Instr. Civ. 1.22 (2010).
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Volume 1, Issue 3