Don't Make It A Memory Test: Let Jurors In New York Have Written Copies Of The Court's Instructions

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Mintz

Contributor

Mintz is a general practice, full-service Am Law 100 law firm with more than 600 attorneys. We are headquartered in Boston and have additional US offices in Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, as well as an office in Toronto, Canada.
Member Jason P.W. Halperin and Associate Erin Galliher co-authored an article in the New York Law Journal arguing that New York should change its current practice and allow written jury instructions...
United States Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration
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Member Jason P.W. Halperin and Associate Erin Galliher co-authored an article in the New York Law Journal arguing that New York should change its current practice and allow written jury instructions to be sent to the jury room during deliberations in criminal trials.

The authors wrote, "Judges tell jurors that they (the judges) will provide the jury with the law for the counts against the defendant, and that the jury's job is to determine the facts and to apply the law the court gave them to render a verdict. But if the jurors are unclear about the law, that does not help anyone. Giving jurors a copy of the instructions would remove this particular hazard from the deliberation process."

SOURCE

New York Law Journal

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