Stutes v. Parrish et al

Filing 121

PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED). Signed by Judge Lucy H. Koh on February 4, 2016. (lhklc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/4/2016)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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DAVID WAYNE STUTES,

Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK

Plaintiff,

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v.

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PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS
(ANNOTATED)

J. PARRISH, et al.,

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Defendants.

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The parties shall file any objections to the preliminary jury instructions by February 8,

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2016.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: February 4, 2016
______________________________________
LUCY H. KOH
United States District Judge

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Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK
PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

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1. DUTY OF JURY

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Ladies and gentlemen: You are now the jury in this case. It is my duty to instruct you on the law.
These instructions are preliminary instructions to help you understand the principles that apply to
civil trials and to help you understand the evidence as you listen to it. You will be allowed to keep
this set throughout the trial to which to refer. This set of instructions is not to be taken home and
must remain in the jury room when you leave in the evenings. At the end of the trial, I will give
you a final set of instructions. It is the final set of instructions which will govern your
deliberations.
You must not infer from these instructions or from anything I may say or do as indicating that I
have an opinion regarding the evidence or what your verdict should be.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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It is your duty to find the facts from all the evidence in the case. To those facts you will apply the
law as I give it to you. You must follow the law as I give it to you whether you agree with it or
not. And you must not be influenced by any personal likes or dislikes, opinions, prejudices, or
sympathy. That means that you must decide the case solely on the evidence before you. You will
recall that you took an oath to do so.
In following my instructions, you must follow all of them and not single out some and ignore
others; they are all important.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.1A (2007 Edition)
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Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK
PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

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2. CLAIMS AND DEFENSES

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To help you follow the evidence, I will give you a brief summary of the positions of the parties:

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The plaintiff claims that the defendants searched his home and seized his property without his
consent and that he suffered damages as a result. The plaintiff has the burden of proving these
claims.

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The defendants deny these claims.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.2 (2007 Edition)

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK
PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

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3. BURDEN OF PROOF—PREPONDERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE

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When a party has the burden of proof on any claim by a preponderance of the evidence, it means
you must be persuaded by the evidence that the claim is more probably true than not true.

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You should base your decision on all of the evidence, regardless of which party presented it.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.3 (2007 Edition)

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

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4. TWO OR MORE PARTIES—DIFFERENT LEGAL RIGHTS
You should decide the case as to each party separately. Unless otherwise stated, the instructions
apply to all parties.
Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.5 (2007 Edition)

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK
PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

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5. WHAT IS EVIDENCE

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The evidence you are to consider in deciding what the facts are consists of:

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(1) the sworn testimony of any witness;

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(2) the exhibits which are received in evidence; and

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(3) any facts to which the lawyers have agreed.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.6 (2007 Edition)

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK
PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

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6. WHAT IS NOT EVIDENCE

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In reaching your verdict, you may consider only the testimony and exhibits received into evidence.
Certain things are not evidence, and you may not consider them in deciding what the facts are. I
will list them for you:

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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(1) Arguments and statements by lawyers are not evidence. The lawyers are not
witnesses. What they will say in their opening statements, will say in their closing
arguments, and at other times is intended to help you interpret the evidence, but it is
not evidence. If the facts as you remember them differ from the way the lawyers
have stated them, your memory of them controls.
(2) Questions and objections by lawyers are not evidence. Attorneys have a duty to
their clients to object when they believe a question is improper under the rules of
evidence. You should not be influenced by the objection or by the court’s ruling on
it.
(3) Testimony that has been excluded or stricken, or that you have been instructed
to disregard, is not evidence and must not be considered. In addition sometimes
testimony and exhibits are received only for a limited purpose; when I give a
limiting instruction, you must follow it.
(4) Anything you may have seen or heard when the court was not in session is not
evidence. You are to decide the case solely on the evidence received at the trial.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.7 (2007 Edition)

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Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK
PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

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7. DIRECT OR CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE
Evidence may be direct or circumstantial. Direct evidence is direct proof of a fact, such as
testimony by a witness about what that witness personally saw or heard or did. Circumstantial
evidence is proof of one or more facts from which you could find another fact. You should
consider both kinds of evidence. The law makes no distinction between the weight to be given to
either direct or circumstantial evidence. It is for you to decide how much weight to give to any
evidence.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.9 (2007 Edition)

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK
PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

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8. RULING ON OBJECTIONS

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There are rules of evidence that control what can be received into evidence. When a lawyer asks a
question or offers an exhibit into evidence and a lawyer on the other side thinks that it is not
permitted by the rules of evidence, that lawyer may object. If I overrule the objection, the
question may be answered or the exhibit received. If I sustain the objection, the question cannot
be answered, and the exhibit cannot be received. Whenever I sustain an objection to a question,
you must ignore the question and must not guess what the answer might have been.

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Sometimes I may order that evidence be stricken from the record and that you disregard or ignore
the evidence. That means that when you are deciding the case, you must not consider the evidence
that I told you to disregard.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.10 (2007 Edition)

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK
PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

9. CREDIBILITY OF WITNESSES

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In deciding the facts in this case, you may have to decide which testimony to believe and which
testimony not to believe. You may believe everything a witness says, or part of it, or none of it.
Proof of a fact does not necessarily depend on the number of witnesses who testify about it.

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In considering the testimony of any witness, you may take into account:
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(1) the opportunity and ability of the witness to see or hear or know the things testified
to;

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(2) the witness’s memory;

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(3) the witness’s manner while testifying;

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(4) the witness’s interest in the outcome of the case and any bias or prejudice;
(5) whether other evidence contradicted the witness’s testimony;

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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(6) the reasonableness of the witness’s testimony in light of all the evidence; and

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(7) any other factors that bear on believability.

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The weight of the evidence as to a fact does not necessarily depend on the number of witnesses
who testify about it.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.11 (2007 Edition)

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Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK
PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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10. CONDUCT OF THE JURY
I will now say a few words about your conduct as jurors.
First, keep an open mind throughout the trial, and do not decide what the verdict should be until
you and your fellow jurors have completed your deliberations at the end of the case.
Second, because you must decide this case based only on the evidence received in the case and on
my instructions as to the law that applies, you must not be exposed to any other information about
the case or to the issues it involves during the course of your jury duty. Thus, until the end of the
case or unless I tell you otherwise:
Do not communicate with anyone in any way and do not let anyone else
communicate with you in any way about the merits of the case or anything to do
with it. This includes discussing the case in person, in writing, by phone or
electronic means, via e-mail, text messaging, or any Internet chat room, blog, Web
site or other feature. This applies to communicating with your fellow jurors until I
give you the case for deliberation, and it applies to communicating with everyone
else including your family members, your employer, the media or press, and the
people involved in the trial, although you may notify your family and your
employer that you have been seated as a juror in the case. But, if you are asked or
approached in any way about your jury service or anything about this case, you
must respond that you have been ordered not to discuss the matter and to report the
contact to the court.
Because you will receive all the evidence and legal instruction you properly may
consider to return a verdict: do not read, watch, or listen to any news or media
accounts or commentary about the case or anything to do with it; do not do any
research, such as consulting dictionaries, searching the Internet or using other
reference materials; and do not make any investigation or in any other way try to
learn about the case on your own.
The law requires these restrictions to ensure the parties have a fair trial based on the same
evidence that each party has had an opportunity to address. A juror who violates these restrictions
jeopardizes the fairness of these proceedings, and a mistrial could result that would require the
entire process to start over. If any juror is exposed to any outside information, please notify the
court immediately.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.12 (2009 Edition)

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PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

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11. NO TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE TO JURY
During deliberations, you will have to make your decision based on what you recall of the
evidence. You will not have a transcript of the trial. I urge you to pay close attention to the
testimony as it is given.

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If at any time you cannot hear or see the testimony, evidence, questions or arguments, let me know
so that I can correct the problem.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.13 (2007 Edition)

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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12. TAKING NOTES
If you wish, you may take notes to help you remember the evidence. If you do take notes, please
keep them to yourself until you and your fellow jurors go to the jury room to decide the case. Do
not let note-taking distract you. When you leave, your notes should be left in the jury room. No
one will read your notes. They will be destroyed at the conclusion of the case.
Whether or not you take notes, you should rely on your own memory of the evidence. Notes are
only to assist your memory. You should not be overly influenced by your notes or those of your
fellow jurors.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.14 (2007 Edition)

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Northern District of California

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13. BENCH CONFERENCES AND RECESSES
From time to time during the trial, it may become necessary for me to talk with the attorneys out
of the hearing of the jury, either by having a conference at the bench when the jury is present in
the courtroom, or by calling a recess. Please understand that while you are waiting, we are
working. The purpose of these conferences is not to keep relevant information from you, but to
decide how certain evidence is to be treated under the rules of evidence and to avoid confusion
and error.
Of course, we will do what we can to keep the number and length of these conferences to a
minimum. I may not always grant an attorney’s request for a conference. Do not consider my
granting or denying a request for a conference as any indication of my opinion of the case or of
what your verdict should be.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.18 (2007 Edition)

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Northern District of California

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Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK
PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

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14. STIPULATIONS OF FACT
The parties have agreed to certain facts that will be read to you. You should therefore treat these
facts as having been proved.

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The stipulated facts are as follows:
1. On June 23, 2013, the Defendant Deputies responded to a report of domestic violence.
The same day, Plaintiff was arrested for domestic violence and ultimately charged with
two counts of domestic violence. Plaintiff was tried on both counts. After a trial, a
unanimous jury found Plaintiff not guilty of both counts.
2. At the relevant time, Plaintiff’s home was a trailer in Morgan Hill
3. At around 3:30 pm on June 23, 2013, Defendants Parrish, Catalano, Barton, and Leslie
arrived at Plaintiff’s home.
4. Plaintiff arrived at his home sometime after the deputies arrived.
5. Defendants had not obtained a warrant prior to searching Plaintiff’s trailer or seizing his
property.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions – 2.2 (2007 Edition)

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Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK
PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)

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15. USE OF INTERROGATORIES OF A PARTY

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Evidence may be presented to you in the form of answers of one of the parties to written
interrogatories submitted by the other side. These answers were given in writing and under oath,
before the actual trial, in response to questions that were submitted in writing under established
court procedures. You should consider the answers, insofar as possible, in the same way as if they
were made from the witness stand.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 2.10 (2007 Edition)

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16. OUTLINE OF TRIAL
Trials proceed in the following way: First, each side may make an opening statement. An
opening statement is not evidence. It is simply an outline to help you understand what that party
expects the evidence will show. A party is not required to make an opening statement.
The plaintiff will then present evidence, and counsel for the defendant may cross-examine. Then
the defendant may present evidence, and counsel for the plaintiff may cross-examine.
After the evidence has been presented, I will instruct you on the law that applies to the case and
the attorneys will make closing arguments.

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After that, you will go to the jury room to deliberate on your verdict.

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Source: Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions - 1.19 (2007 Edition)

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Northern District of California

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Case No. 14-CV-02016-LHK
PRELIMINARY JURY INSTRUCTIONS (ANNOTATED)