In re Amendments to Okla. Unif. Jury Instructions
| Decision Date | 12 September 2016 |
| Parties | IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO OKLAHOMA UNIFORM JURY INSTRUCTIONS - CIVIL |
| Court | Oklahoma Supreme Court |
2016 OK 90
IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO OKLAHOMA UNIFORM JURY INSTRUCTIONS - CIVIL
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
Decided: September 12, 2016
¶1 The Court has reviewed the recommendations of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Committee for Uniform Civil Jury Instructions to adopt recommended amendments to existing instructions and proposed new instructions. The Court finds that the amendments and new instructions should be adopted.
¶2 It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that the attached instructions shall be available for access via internet from the Court website at www.oscn.net. The Administrative Office of the Courts is directed to notify the Judges of the District Courts of the State of Oklahoma regarding our approval of the instructions set forth herein. Further, the District Courts of the State of Oklahoma are charged with the responsibility of implementing these instructions within thirty (30) days of this order. Notwithstanding, the district courts may implement these instructions immediately for any currently pending actions in which the judge determines the instructions are applicable.
¶3 It is therefore ordered that the proposed amendments to OUJI-CIV Nos. 1.0, 1.4, 3.11, 3.25, 4.1--4.3, 10.13, 11.10, 25.1--25.7, as set out and attached to this Order, are hereby approved. Additionally, it is ordered that the newly created instructions set out in OUJI-CIV Nos. 25.11, 25.12, 31.1--31.4, and 32.1--32.4, as set out and attached to this Order, are hereby adopted.
¶4 The Court declines to relinquish its constitutional and statutory authority to review the legal correctness of the above-referenced instructions or when it is called upon to afford corrective relief in any adjudicative context.
¶5 The amended OUJI-CIV instructions shall be effective thirty (30) days following entry of this Order.
DONE BY ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT IN CONFERENCE THE 12th DAY OF September, 2016.
/S/VICE CHIEF JUSTICE
¶6 ALL JUSTICES CONCUR
Instruction No. 1.0
Use of Electronic Devices and Research Prohibited
At this time, turn off all cell phones and other electronic devices. Do not use any electronic devices while court is in session in this case.
Do not use any electronic device or media, such as the telephone, a cell or smart phone, camera, recording device, Blackberry, PDA, computer, the Internet, any Internet service, any text or instant messaging service, any Internet chat room, blog, or website such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, or Twitter, or any other way to find out any information about this case or the parties or attorneys.
During this trial, do not text, post, tweet, blog or otherwise broadcast anything about this case or your service on this jury. This will help you avoid others pressuring you to discuss this trial. If you believe that another juror is violating this instruction, please notify me by immediately giving a note to the bailiff.
It is very important that you abide by these instructions because it is essential that you keep your minds free and open at all times throughout this trial and that you not be influenced by anything except the evidence you hear and see in the courtroom. Failure to follow these instructions could result in the case having to be retried, and you will be in violation of your oath and the court's order, which may result in your being fined or put in jail.
This Instruction should be given as soon as the case is called in the presence of the jury. The trial judge may also distribute hard copies of this Instruction to the jurors.
Instruction No. 1.4
Jury's Duties - Cautionary Instruction --- To Be Given After Jury Is Sworn
Members of the Jury: I will now explain to you your duties as jurors. It is vital to the administration of justice that you fully understand and faithfully perform these duties.
It is my duty to determine all of the law applicable to this case and to inform you of that law by these instructions and by the instructions that I will give you after all evidence has been received. It is your duty to accept and follow all of these instructions as a whole, not accepting one or more of these instructions and disregarding the others.
It is your duty to determine the facts of this case from the evidence produced in open court. You should consider only the evidence introduced while the court is in session. It is then your duty to apply the law, as determined by the court, to the facts as determined by you, and thus render a verdict. You should not allow sympathy or prejudice to influence your decision. Your decision should be based upon probabilities, and not possibilities. It may not be based upon speculation or guesswork.
The evidence which you are to consider consists of the testimony of the witnesses; the exhibits, if any, admitted into evidence; any facts admitted or agreed to by the attorneys; and any facts which I instruct you to accept as true. The term "witness" means anyone who testifies in person, by video, or by deposition, including the parties.
In addition, you are permitted to draw such reasonable inferences from the testimony and exhibits as you feel are justified when considered with the aid of the knowledge which you each possess in common with other persons. You may make deductions and reach conclusions which reason and common sense lead you to draw from the facts which you find to have been established by the testimony and evidence in the case.
The production of evidence in court is governed by rules of law. From time to time it may be the duty of the attorneys to object to the production of evidence and my duty to rule on these objections. If I say the objection is sustained, you must not consider the testimony or exhibit covered by the objection. If I say the objection is overruled, you may consider the testimony or exhibit covered by the objection. If I say the objection is sustained, you must not consider the testimony or exhibit covered by the objection. and you should not speculate on what the testimony or exhibit might have been. The attorney's objections, and my rulings upon these objections, together with the reasons for these objections and rulings are not evidence and should not be considered by you.
The statements, remarks and arguments of the attorneys are intended to help you in understanding the evidence and applying the law, but are not evidence. If any statement, remark or argument of an attorney has no basis in the evidence, then you should disregard it.
You are the sole judges of the believability of each witness and the value to be given the testimony of each. You should take into consideration the witness's means of knowledge, strength of memory and opportunities of observation. Also consider the reasonableness, consistency or inconsistency of the testimony. You should also consider the bias, prejudice or interest, if any, the witness may have in the outcome of the trial, the conduct of the witness upon the witness stand and all other facts and circumstances that affect the believability of the witness.
My rulings and remarks made during the course of this trial are not intended to indicate my opinion as to the facts. During all recesses and adjournments, while this case is in progress, you must not discuss this case, or anything about this case, with anyone, and you must not allow anyone to discuss it with you. This rule applies not only to court employees, the attorneys, parties, or witnesses involved in this case, and others you may meet in the courthouse, but also to your husband and wife, other members of your family, your friends and anyone else you may meet. If during the trial anyone talks to you or tries to talk to you about this case, you must immediately report it to me, or the [(clerk of the court)/bailiff], who will report to me.
Do not, before this case is finally submitted to you for a decision, talk to your fellow jurors about this case, or anything about this case, or form or express any opinion about it.
Do not read newspaper reports or obtain information from the internet or any other source about this trial or the issues, parties or witnesses involved in this case, and do not watch or listen to television or radio reports about it. Do not attempt to visit the scene or investigate this case on your own.
During this trial, do not text, post, tweet, blog or otherwise broadcast anything about this case or your service on this jury. This will help you avoid others pressuring you to discuss this trial. If you believe that another juror is violating this instruction, please notify me by immediately giving a note to the bailiff.
The reasons for these rules are that it is essential that you should keep your minds free and open at all times throughout this trial and that you should not be influenced by anything except the evidence you hear and see in the courtroom.
From now on, at the beginning of each recess or adjournment, I will refer to these instructions as "my instructions" or "my usual instructions," but whether or not this is done, you will carefully observe these rules at all times.
Before excusing the jurors for recesses and adjournments, the judge should remind them not to discuss the case. The following Instruction is suggested:
At this time, let me remind you not to discuss this case, or anything about this case, with anyone [(during the recess)/(while court is adjourned)], and do not allow anyone to discuss it with you. If anyone talks to you or tries to talk to you about this case, you are instructed to report it immediately either to me or to the [(clerk of the court)/bailiff].
Instruction No. 3.11
Inference from Failure to Produce Evidence or Witness
In general, no instruction should be given for an inference from failure to produce evidence....
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