Jurors struggle in just about ever case to figure out what
the jury instructions actually mean in real life, and how they apply to the
case at hand. No matter how many times jurists attempt to make jury
instructions more accessible to the ordinary person, the language remains
obscure and convoluted. You must help jurors make sense of the language - and
most importantly - help the jurors understand how these instructions fit with
your case if you are to prevail.
For example, take "negligence." Jurors’ often
interpret the term the way they think of it in daily life: deliberately,
intentionally failing to do something one should have done. But unless clearly
instructed that the intent to inflict harm is not a prerequisite of a finding
for the plaintiff, the jurors, for example, might easily absolve a physician's
incompetence because "the doctor didn't mean to hurt the patient."
Even when jurors understand the words as meant in a legal
sense, they can fail to see how the instruction applies to your case. What is
obvious to you is often cryptic to jurors. Throughout the trial, relate
testimony and evidence to the key terms of your jury instructions, and remind
jurors at closing of how you accomplished this. A "bottom-line" type
chart will easily reinforce the connection.
The lawyer who provides the clearest and most easily
understood interpretation of the facts is most often he/she who wins their
case. Sounds easy, yet takes quite a bit of skill to accomplish. However, a
worthy goal, indeed.
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