Where to find jury instructions

Sixth Circuit Last updated Seventh Circuit Most recent is the ed. Eighth Circuit Last updated Ninth Circuit Last updated Tenth Circuit Last updated Eleventh Circuit Updated as of These guides may be used for educational purposes, as long as proper credit is given.

These guides may not be sold. Any comments, suggestions, or requests to republish or adapt a guide should be submitted using the Research Guides Comments form. When both sides have presented their case to the judge and jury, the jury must render a verdict.

Judges issue instructions to assist them in the deliberations, spelling out elements of offenses and other issues that must be satisfied. These instructions can be provided by the two sides in the case and there are a number of sources for jury instructions. Like many legal forms, they are customized to reflect the laws of particular jurisdictions. View Library Map. Reference librarians. In Person: 1st Floor Reference Desk. Phone: Email: via web form.

Hours: Library Service Hours. This Research Guide provides information about jury instructions and tips for finding model jury instructions available at Marquette University Eckstein Law Library, on free websites and through subscription databases. Neither this guide nor the resources mentioned are meant to be an exhaustive bibliography about jury instructions.

Rather, the contents of this research guide are intended to aid the researcher in locating jury instructions and other resources about instructions. This Getting Started page is a quick-reference guide to finding forms and jury instructions. See the headings tabbed at the top of this guide for more specific information on Federal , Wisconsin , Seventh Circuit , States and Subject-Specific jury instructions as well as Current issues related to jury instructions.

To properly focus your research, identify the jurisdiction for the instructions needed:. Search the Marqcat online catalog for the title, if known, or try a keyword or subject search for "jury instructions". Forms, deskbooks and practice guides may provide the information needed. For example, a subject search for "jury instructions - united states" would help find federal materials.

Determine if subject-specific, or topical, instructions are available for your area of interest:. Check the Marqcat catalog for Law LIbrary holdings. The American Bar Association, for example, publishes several titles that provide discussion and sample jury instructions for a specific topic or area of law such as real estate. Some subject-specific instructions may be found online by searching Google or another search engine.

Court websites may include model or pattern instructions. Search for a specific jurisdiction using a search engine such as Google. Compilations provide lists of websites with jury instructions, usually with links to the instructions. Here are a few links to such compilations:. The suggested research paths listed below for Bloomberg, Lexis and Westlaw will take the researcher to lists of jury instructions provided in each database. This is just one method for locating instructions.

Other search strategies may be performed to locate instructions. Access is restricted to Marquette University Law School students and faculty and require individual passwords and usernames.

See a list of Subscription Databases at Marquette University Eckstein Law LIbrary along with brief descriptions of the database and access restrictions. Bloomberg Law. To locate relevant law review or law journal articles about jury instructions use an indexing service that offers references to many journals. Searching online for law journal articles can be more efficient than searching print indexes. For some databases, access may be restricted to Law School students and faculty and may require individual passwords and usernames.

See a list of S ubscription Databases at Marquette University Eckstein Law Library along with brief descriptions of the database and access restrictions. Google Scholar. HeinOnline Access is restricted to members of the Marquette Community and on-site patrons of the law library. LegalTrac Access is restricted to members of the Marquette Community and on-site patrons of the law library.

Lexis Access is restricted to faculty and students of Marquette University Law School through individual usernames and passwords. LexisNexis Academic Access is restricted to members of the Marquette Community and on-site patrons of the law library.