What are the jury instructions during a criminal case?

Jury instructions do several things:





They define the elements of the crime or crimes charged;





They limit the evidence to be considered by the jury;





They tell the jury what they must do if they find certain facts;





They tell the jury what they may or may not conclude from certain conduct (e.g. the defendant's decision not to testify as an admission of guilt.);





They may admonish the jury with regard to stricken testimony and/or evidence





There are many options. In the more simple and straight forward case, jury instructions are pretty much forms agreed upon by the legislature or judicial committee to be acceptable. However, ALL jury instructions are subject to challenge and/or modification. Often, this is the subject of pre and/or post trial motions and hearings. These hearings are designed to eliminate prejudicial evidence or definitions, or to allow certain instructions to clarify a point or testimony that may need further explanation than the form instructions may provide.





As is the case in any phase of trial, the theory is to provide the defendant with due process, and to try to eliminate the presumption that the defendant is guilty before jury deliberations. It is also designed to afford the state and/or plaintiff's attorney the right to have admissable evidence against the defendant properly presented and explained to the jury for deliberation.





A good attorney will challenge boilerplate instructions if they prejudice his or her client. Most of these challenges are not going to work, because the standard instructions generally have been challenged to death. There is seldom a ';new'; challenge to consider. However, if the litigation is complex and the issues need further clarification, the challenge may stand. Many criminal cases are won and lost in this phase of trial.





EDIT:





Example of California Jury Instructions





http://www.hhs.csus.edu/CJ/Syllabi_F07/F鈥?/a>What are the jury instructions during a criminal case?
The actual instructions vary, there is a different instruction for each point of law, they are created for each individual case. Then there are others that apply to all cases.





They can also vary from state to state.





I have been at trials where it can take 20 minutes or more for the judge to read the instructions.





Try a search with your state and ';jury instructions';. I was able to find Wisconsin's that way.What are the jury instructions during a criminal case?
Essentially, they are the set of legal rules that jurors must follow when the jury is deciding the case. Jury instructions are given to the jury by the judge, who usually reads them aloud to the jury. They are often the subject of discussion by attorneys on both sides in the case and the judge in order to make sure their interests are represented and nothing prejudicial is said.





It covers such things as what evidence can be considered, what the jury MUST do, what the jury cannot do and other rules. They will vary depending on the case and type of case (civil vs criminal).





Calif Deputy
They're the way the judge instructs the jury as to what the prosecution has to prove in order for them to find the defendant guilty.





No-one can possibly know what the actual instructions will be in a specific case without knowing even what the charge is, let alone the specific facts and elements to be proved.





Richard
It depends on...





What Court you're in, what the crime was, what the points of law under question are, and the level of proof that is required. The compilations of Jury Instructions I've seen have been in huge volumes, and the Judge chooses from the instructions in each section those that apply specifically to the trial in question.





Sorry... there's just no way anyone can provide you with the specific instructions.
UNDER ALABAMA LAW, IT IS FOUND UNDER ALABAMA RULES OF THE COURT, THE RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, JURY DELIBERATIONS, RULE 21: INSTRUCTIONS TO THE JURY: OBJECTIONS


21.1--INSTRUCTIONS TO THE JURY


21.2--ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS


21.3 OBJECTIONS





'; AT THE CLOSE OF THE EVIDENCE OR AT SUCH OTHER TIME DURING THE TRIAL AS THE COURT REASONABLY DIRECTS, EITHER PARTY MAY FILE AND, IN SUCH EVENT, SHALL SERVE ON THE OPPOSING PARTY, WRITTEN REQUESTS THAT THE COURT INSTRUCT THE JURY ON THE LAW AS SET FORTH IN THOSE REQUESTS.';





IN A CAPITAL CASE THESE INSTRUCTIONS MAY BE GIVEN BY THE JUDGE BEFORE THE TRIAL PHASE BEGINS.