Third Circuit Model Jury Instructions: Civil and Criminal

The Third Circuit model jury instructions are standardized civil and criminal jury-charge templates that federal judges and attorneys use in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.1United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. About the Court They are model language rather than binding law, so a trial judge can modify the wording as long as the final charge accurately states the legal standards.2United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Model Civil Jury Instructions Introduction For practicing attorneys, they are the starting point when preparing proposed instructions for trial.

Where to Download Them

The full sets are published on the Third Circuit’s official website, with separate landing pages for the civil and criminal collections.3United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Each chapter is available in both PDF and Word format, so the language can be pulled directly into a filing.4Third Circuit – United States Court of Appeals. Model Civil Jury Table of Contents and Instructions

Check the posted revision date on any chapter before you rely on it. The committee updates chapters on a rolling basis to reflect new appellate decisions, and using an outdated instruction that doesn’t reflect a recent Supreme Court or Third Circuit ruling is the kind of mistake that creates problems at trial and on appeal.2United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Model Civil Jury Instructions Introduction

What the Civil Instructions Cover

The civil set runs eleven chapters plus two appendices. Chapters 1 through 3 are the general instructions used in every civil jury trial: the preliminary charge explaining the jury’s role, guidance on evaluating witness credibility, and the final instructions delivered before deliberations.4Third Circuit – United States Court of Appeals. Model Civil Jury Table of Contents and Instructions

The remaining chapters address specific federal causes of action:

  • Chapter 4, civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, including excessive force during a stop, arrest, or other seizure.
  • Chapter 5, employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
  • Chapter 6, race discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981.
  • Chapter 7, § 1983 employment claims, kept separate from the non-employment § 1983 instructions in Chapter 4.
  • Chapter 8, age discrimination under the ADEA.
  • Chapter 9, employment claims under the ADA.
  • Chapter 10, claims under the FMLA.
  • Chapter 11, sex discrimination under the Equal Pay Act.

The set does not cover every federal civil claim. Antitrust and patent infringement, for example, are not part of the model collection, so attorneys in those cases draft custom instructions or borrow from other circuits.4Third Circuit – United States Court of Appeals. Model Civil Jury Table of Contents and Instructions

What the Criminal Instructions Cover

The criminal set begins with foundational chapters. Chapters 1 through 5 cover the presumption of innocence, the government’s burden of proof, how to evaluate different kinds of evidence, and the mental-state requirements for criminal charges.5Third Circuit – United States Court of Appeals. Model Criminal Jury Table of Contents and Instructions

Chapter 6 contains the element instructions for specific federal offenses:

  • Financial crimes, including bankruptcy fraud (18 U.S.C. § 152), misapplication of bank funds (18 U.S.C. § 656), and mail, wire, bank, and health care fraud (18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, 1344, 1347).
  • Public corruption, including bribery of public officials (18 U.S.C. § 201), theft and bribery involving federal funds (18 U.S.C. § 666), and Hobbs Act extortion and robbery (18 U.S.C. § 1951).
  • Organized crime and money laundering, covering RICO offenses (18 U.S.C. §§ 1962, 1963) and money laundering (18 U.S.C. § 1956).
  • Firearms and drugs, covering firearm offenses (18 U.S.C. §§ 922, 924), unregistered firearms (26 U.S.C. § 5861), and controlled substance offenses (21 U.S.C. §§ 841, 844, 846, 853).
  • Conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371), obstruction of justice and witness tampering (18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1512), bank robbery (18 U.S.C. § 2113), theft from interstate shipments (18 U.S.C. § 659), and tax offenses (26 U.S.C. §§ 7201, 7203, 7206).

Chapters 7 and 8 address additional bases for criminal responsibility, such as aiding and abetting, and defenses including entrapment, duress, and insanity. Chapter 9 collects supplemental instructions a judge may give during deliberations, such as an Allen charge when a jury reports it is deadlocked.5Third Circuit – United States Court of Appeals. Model Criminal Jury Table of Contents and Instructions

Special Verdict Forms

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 49 lets a court require the jury to answer specific factual questions rather than, or in addition to, returning a general verdict. A special verdict form makes the jury work through each element of a claim separately, which reduces the risk that jurors skip over a contested issue. Under Rule 49(b), if the written answers conflict with a general verdict, the court can enter judgment based on the answers alone, send the jury back for further deliberation, or order a new trial.6Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 49 – Special Verdict; General Verdict and Questions

The Third Circuit civil model includes only one integrated instruction and special verdict form template: the § 1983 excessive-force claim involving a stop, arrest, or other seizure.4Third Circuit – United States Court of Appeals. Model Civil Jury Table of Contents and Instructions For every other cause of action, counsel draft case-specific verdict forms and submit them with their proposed instructions.

Submitting Proposed Instructions at Trial

The pattern instructions are a starting point, not a finished product. Each one has to be adapted to the specific facts and legal theories of the case. An attorney handling an excessive-force claim, for example, would take the Chapter 4 model and modify it to reference the specific officers, the type of force alleged, and the circumstances the evidence established. Proposed instructions should cite supporting case law, especially when counsel is asking for language that departs from the model.

In civil cases, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 51 governs the submission process. Written proposed instructions are filed at the close of evidence or at an earlier deadline the court sets.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 51 – Instructions to the Jury; Objections; Preserving a Claim of Error In criminal cases, Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 30 imposes the same requirement, with copies furnished to every other party.8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 30 – Jury Instructions

Before the charge is delivered, the trial judge holds a conference with counsel. In civil cases, the court must inform the parties of its intended instructions before final arguments. In criminal cases, the court must rule on requested instructions before closing arguments.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 51 – Instructions to the Jury; Objections; Preserving a Claim of Error This is where the real negotiation happens. Counsel argue for or against specific instructions, and the judge makes final decisions about what the jury will hear. The pattern instructions carry persuasive weight but do not bind the court.

Preserving Objections for Appeal

Failing to object to a jury instruction at the right time can be fatal on appeal. Both Rule 51 (civil) and Rule 30 (criminal) require objections to be placed on the record before the jury retires to deliberate, and both require the objection to state the specific grounds.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 51 – Instructions to the Jury; Objections; Preserving a Claim of Error8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 30 – Jury Instructions A vague objection, or one raised for the first time after deliberations begin, generally will not preserve the issue.

Rule 51(d) allows a party who properly preserved an objection to assign as error either a flawed instruction the court gave or the court’s failure to give a requested one. Without preservation, the appellate court reviews only for plain error affecting substantial rights, considering whether there was an error, whether it was obvious, whether it affected the outcome, and whether it seriously undermined the fairness of the proceeding.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 51 – Instructions to the Jury; Objections; Preserving a Claim of Error Rule 30(d) applies the same plain-error limit in criminal cases, tied to Rule 52(b).8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 30 – Jury Instructions

The practical point for anyone litigating in a Third Circuit district court: the charge conference is one of the most consequential moments in the trial. An attorney who disagrees with a jury instruction but fails to state a clear, specific objection on the record before deliberations has effectively waived the issue.