Clear Jury Instructions

In the courtroom, it is very important that everyone receives a clear message about the current trial. The jury has one of the most crucial decisions because they have to set aside their prejudices, sort through the facts, and help choose the verdict. Jury instructions are the set of legal rules that are given by the judge, who reads them to the jury. The jury should follow these rules whenever they are going to decide the verdict in a criminal and/or civil case. Even though they can be different, about 48 states use a general set of jury instructions in most cases. To make sure that all parties are on the same page, the Florida Grand Jury Instructions are:

1. Preliminary statements
2. Instructions on subject matter
3. Civil instructions
4. Procedure
5. Disqualification of a grand juror
6. Disqualification of state attorney
7. Jury functions only as body
8. Child labor, election, subversive activities laws
9. Oath
10. Conclusion
11. Appointment

The jury does have a big weight on their shoulders when they are going through each case. One of the most important issues that come about are the bias or prejudices they may have towards a certain side. If there is any present, there will be a need for a new trial since it is jury misconduct. They have to treat each trial the same until they are presented all of the evidence, where they can then make a decision. If the jury instructions are clear and the jury understands, it will help prevent unfair trials.