Attorneys draft jury instructions that judges select among and may reject with appealable error

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…, 1403

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Evidence rulings by trial judges are appealable by either party — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1387; Judges create law when forced to choose among competing interpretations. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 196; Judges create law when forced to resolve statutory ambiguity. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 187 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Judges create law when forced to choose among competing interpretations. #qualifies (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 196
• Judges create law when forced to resolve statutory ambiguity. #qualifies (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 187