A rejected jury instruction can become the basis for an appeal.

Evidence

From the alternative versions of instructions the attorneys submit on each legal issue in the case, the judge selects the instructions that seem most appropriate, modifying them if necessary. An attorney whose version is rejected may base an appeal on that rejection, arguing that the jury was misinformed about the law in the case. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1403

Categorization

• XREF: Connects forward to the chapter’s coverage of appeals and harmless-error review of instruction errors. — connects to: Prejudicial closing arguments can get a verdict overturned on appeal. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 858; Attorneys, not judges, draft proposed jury instructions that judges select from — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 864; Attorneys draft jury instructions that judges select among and may reject with appealable error — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1403 (+18 more)

Broader Connections

• Attorneys draft jury instructions that judges select among and may reject with appealable error #corroborates (1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1403
• Appellate courts address legal questions rather than factual ones #qualifies (1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1247
• Few appealed cases succeed past the first-level appellate courts #qualifies (1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 893
• First-level appellate courts must hear all appeals brought before them #qualifies (1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1585
• Appellate courts review lower rulings and decide by written opinions. #qualifies (1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 571
• A judge’s post-trial findings can foreclose a losing party’s appeal. #complicates (0.70) — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 2899
• Rejecting a penal order is reversible up until the verdict is announced #complicates (0.70) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1742
• Cheap, effective appeals would clog the system and expose its unfairness #complicates (0.70) — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 988
• Unclear capital sentencing instructions cause jurors dangerous confusion. #complicates (0.70) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1999
• Jurors displace guilt onto the legal system’s decisions #complicates (0.70) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2001
• Selective evidence can mislead juries about the case’s credibility. #complicates (0.70) — Lynley Hood, A City Possessed, 2644
• Trial court fact-finding errors cannot be remedied on appeal #complicates (0.70) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 801
• Trials and appeals are rare exceptions to routine case disposition in U.S. courts #complicates (0.70) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1601
• Unintelligible sentencing instructions let jurors displace responsibility for death sentences #complicates (0.70) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1995
• Supporters can accept a trial’s legality while contesting its justice #complicates (0.70) — Julia Stephens, The Phantom Wahhabi, 185