Jury Instructions for the Modern Age Joseph and P. Raymond Lamonica’s Louisiana Civil Law Treatise.218 Their opening instruction for civil trials includes an admonition not to consult outside material, and a short rationale statement, but books are the only medium specifically mentioned. I should also point out to you that anything you may have seen or heard outside the courtroom is not evidence and should be disregarded. You should decide this case solely on the evidence presented here in the courtroom. That also means that you should not conduct any research on these matters yourselves, such as reading books that might help you understand this case. Since not all of the jurors would have access to the same materials, this independent effort on your part would not be fair to the parties to this litigation.219
The introductory civil instructions also include an admonition against discussing the case prior to deliberations.220 This is repeated in the civil instructions immediately prior to deliberations. If you recess during deliberations, or if your deliberations should last more than one day, you must follow all of the instructions that I have given you about your conduct during the trial. You must not discuss the case with anyone outside of the jury room, even another juror. You may only discuss the case with your fellow jurors in the jury room and only when all of your fellow jurors are present.221
Criminal Instructions There is no such admonition in the criminal instructions, nor is there an admonition in the criminal instructions against discussing the case outside of deliberations.222
Maine – Civil: Modern; Criminal: Modern General Instructions Maine’s Jury Instruction Manual contains an instruction, meant for both civil and criminal trials, which admonishes jurors to not communicate about the case in any way, specifically mentioning the Internet and social media. At this time, I want to remind you of some things that are important to assure that this is a fair trial and that you, as jurors, are perceived as having been fair and impartial in hearing the case and reaching your verdict: First, do not talk among yourselves about this case, or about anyone involved with it, until the end of the trial when you go to the jury room to decide on your verdict; Second, do not talk or communicate with anyone else about this case, until the trial has ended and you have been discharged as jurors. “Anyone else” includes members of your family, your friends, people at your workplace, or anyone else with whom you might communicate. You may tell them that you are a juror, but do not tell them anything about the case until after you have been discharged. When I ask you not to communicate, that means, beyond talking directly to people, that you may not communicate anything about this case or your participation in it using any means of communication including e-mail, cell phones, text messaging, Twitter or any blog, internet chat room, or social networking websites such as Facebook, YouTube, My Space, or LinkedIn;
218. See 17 La. Civ. L. Treatise, Criminal Jury Instructions (2d ed. 2010) and H. Alston Johnson III, 18 La. Civ. L. Treatise, Civil Jury Instructions (2d ed. 2010). Note that the word “civil” in the title of the treatise is a reference to Louisiana’s history as a “civil law” jurisdiction; that the treatise is “intended to cover the entire field of the civil law.” A.N. Yiannopoulos, Louisiana Civil Law: A Lost Cause?, 54 Tul. L. Rev. 830, 845 (1980). 219. 18 La. Civ. L. Treatise, Civ. Jury Instr. § 1.01 (2d ed. 2010). 220. Id. 221. 18 La. Civ. L. Treatise, Civ. Jury Instrs. § 2.15 (2d ed. 2010). 222. See 17 La. Civ. L. Treatise, Crim. Jury Instrs. (2d ed. 2010).
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Volume 1, Issue 3