Attorneys, not judges, draft proposed jury instructions that judges select from

Evidence

Judges do not draw up these instructions all by themselves. Rather, they rely on attorneys for the parties to draw up the instructions that they wish the jury to receive. The attorneys themselves tend to rely on volumes containing “model jury instructions,” which they then tailor to the facts of the case. 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…, 864

Categorization

• XREF: Shows an adversarial mechanism feeding into appellate review, connecting trial practice to appeals. — connects to: Attorneys draft jury instructions that judges select among and may reject with appealable error — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1403; Trial judges select jury instructions from competing versions drafted by the parties’ attorneys. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1403; Supreme Court law clerks draft opinions under close supervision — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 905 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Attorneys draft jury instructions that judges select among and may reject with appealable error #corroborates (0.97) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1403
• Trial judges select jury instructions from competing versions drafted by the parties’ attorneys. #corroborates (0.96) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1403
• A rejected jury instruction can become the basis for an appeal. #expands (0.78) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1403
• Supreme Court law clerks draft opinions under close supervision #expands (0.74) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 905