THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
 Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin
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Evidence: Charging Documents/Warrants

    1.    Citation Not Evidence Of Guilt
    2.    Search Warrant Not Evidence Of Guilt
    3.    Charging Document Is Not Evidence: Indictment
    4.    Charging Document Is Not Evidence: Information
    5.    Defendant Not On Trial For Any Act Or Conduct Not Alleged In Charging Document
    6.    Cautionary/Explanatory Instruction Re: Indictment Procedure

THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin

1.    Citation Not Evidence Of Guilt

ALERT: Carefully review the Caveats and Disclaimers before using these materials.

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION:

    A citation is nothing more than a written, formal accusation against a defendant charging it with the commission of a ordinance violation. You are not to consider it as evidence against the defendant in any way. It does not raise any inference of guilt and does not alter the prosecutor's burden of proof.

CASES WHERE THE ABOVE INSTRUCTION WAS GIVEN:

County of Kenosha v. Brooks, No. 86-OR-523 (Circuit Court, Kenosha County, Br. 6).

RELATED NCJIC MATERIALS:

See generally NCJIC 12.2 [Preliminary Instructions: Role Of Charging Document].

See also NCJIC 12.2.2 [Charging Document Is Not Evidence].

See also NCJIC 270.1.3 [Role Of Charging Document].

THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin

2.    Search Warrant Not Evidence Of Guilt

ALERT: Carefully review the Caveats and Disclaimers before using these materials.

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION:

    You are not to infer anything whatsoever with respect to the guilt or innocence of __________ (name of defendant) merely because a search warrant was issued authorizing law enforcement officers to search (his/her) residence. A search warrant is the document by which law enforcement officers are permitted to search one's premises. The obtaining of the search warrant in no way suggests a defendant is guilty of a crime. Like the [information] [indictment] in this case, the search warrant itself is not to be considered evidence in this case.

RELATED NCJIC MATERIALS:

See generally NCJIC 12.2 [Preliminary Instructions: Role Of Charging Document].

See also NCJIC 12.2.2 [Charging Document Is Not Evidence].

See also NCJIC 270.1.3 [Role Of Charging Document].

THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin

3.    Charging Document Is Not Evidence: Indictment

ALERT: Carefully review the Caveats and Disclaimers before using these materials.

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 1:

    An indictment is merely the formal manner by which the government accuses a person of a crime in order to bring him to trial. It is not evidence of the defendant's guilt and does not create any presumption or permit any inference of guilt. The jury must not be prejudiced against a defendant because an indictment has been returned against him.

CASES WHERE THE ABOVE INSTRUCTION WAS GIVEN:

United States v. Reigh, No. 76-CR-7 (W.D. Wis. 1976).

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 2:

    The indictment in this case is the formal method of accusing the defendant of a crime and placing him on trial. It is not evidence against the defendant and does not create any inference of guilt.

AUTHORITIES:

Federal Criminal Jury Instructions of the Seventh Circuit, 2.01 [The Charge--the Indictment] [formerly 2.00]; United States v. Garcia, 562 F.2d 411, 417 (7th Cir. 1977).

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 3:

    An indictment is but a formal method of accusing someone of a crime. It is not evidence of any kind against a defendant and you are not to draw any inference at all against a defendant from the fact that an Indictment has been filed.

CASES WHERE THE ABOVE INSTRUCTION WAS GIVEN:

United States v. Brown, No. CR83-310(C)M (W.D. Wash. 1983).

RELATED NCJIC MATERIALS:

See generally NCJIC 12.2 [Preliminary Instructions: Role Of Charging Document].

See also NCJIC 12.2.2 [Charging Document Is Not Evidence].

See also NCJIC 270.1.3 [Role Of Charging Document].

THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin

4.    Charging Document Is Not Evidence: Information

ALERT: Carefully review the Caveats and Disclaimers before using these materials.

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 1:

    An information is merely the formal manner by which the state accuses a person of a crime in order to bring (him/her) to trial. It is not evidence of the defendant's guilt and does not create any presumption of or permit any inference of guilt. The jury must not be prejudiced against a defendant because an information has been returned against (him/her).

CASES WHERE THE ABOVE INSTRUCTION WAS GIVEN:

City of South Milwaukee v. Guttmann, Case No. 1-940168 (Milwaukee County Circuit Court, 1996).

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 2:

    An information is nothing more than a written, formal accusation against a defendant charging the commission of one or more criminal acts. You are not to consider it as evidence against the defendant in any way. It does not raise any inference of guilt.

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 3:

    Defendant has answered the allegations in the charging document by denying that he had any part in murdering __________ (name of decedent), if __________ (decedent) was murdered. Neither the charges in the information nor the defendant’s response to them are any evidence. Their only functions are to permit a trial, and to establish the presumption of innocence in this case.

RELATED NCJIC MATERIALS:

See generally NCJIC 12.2 [Preliminary Instructions: Role Of Charging Document].

See also NCJIC 12.2.2 [Charging Document Is Not Evidence].

See also NCJIC 270.1.3 [Role Of Charging Document].

THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin

5.    Defendant Not On Trial For Any Act Or Conduct Not Alleged In Charging Document

ALERT: Carefully review the Caveats and Disclaimers before using these materials.

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION:

    The defendant is not on trial for any act or conduct not alleged in the indictment.

CASES WHERE THE ABOVE INSTRUCTION WAS GIVEN:

United States v. Blas, No. 89-CR-232 (E.D. Wis. 1990) (Curran, J.); United States v. Matta, No. 82-CR-20 (E.D. Wis. 1982); United States v. Kramer, No. 81-CR-106 (E.D. Wis. 1982).

RELATED NCJIC MATERIALS:

See generally NCJIC 12.2 [Preliminary Instructions: Role Of Charging Document].

See also NCJIC 12.2.2 [Charging Document Is Not Evidence].

See also NCJIC 270.1.3 [Role Of Charging Document].

THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin

6.    Cautionary/Explanatory Instruction Re: Indictment Procedure

ALERT: Carefully review the Caveats and Disclaimers before using these materials.

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION:

        _____________________ (name of defendant) is on trial for ___________________ (charged offense) because a grand jury indicted [him] [her] on this crime. The mere fact that someone has been indicted by a grand jury may not be considered by you as any evidence that this person is guilty and I will now explain to you why this is so.

        The hearing before a grand jury is very different than a trial. In the first place, there is no judge in the grand jury room to rule on evidence and to rule on whether the questions asked of witnesses by the prosecutor are proper questions.

        Second, all sorts of gossip, rumor, hearsay and speculation may be testified to by grand jury witnesses which a judge would never permit to be heard by a trial jury.

        Third, neither the defendant nor [his] [her] lawyer are allowed to be in the grand jury room during grand jury proceedings. Only the prosecutor, witnesses and grand jurors are present.

        Fourth, only the prosecutor can call witnesses before the grand jury. The defendant has no right to call any witness who might testify to a different version of the facts than that presented by the prosecutor. Moreover, the prosecutor is under no obligation to ask his witnesses questions which might provide facts showing a defendant's innocence.

        Fifth, the law in ______________ (name of state/jurisdiction) does not require that a court reporter take down the testimony of witnesses who testify before the grand jury and therefore it is virtually impossible for a trial jury to learn whether a witness who testified before the grand jury gave a different version of the facts than when [he] [she] testified at trial.

        Sixth, as you will learn during this trial, it is my responsibility, as the trial judge, to instruct you on the law you must apply to the facts. In a grand jury hearing there is no judge to instruct the grand jury on the law and the only information the jurors might receive would be the comments from the prosecutor.

        And finally, under ______________ (name of state/jurisdiction) law, a defendant cannot ask a judge to dismiss an indictment because the evidence before the grand jury was not sufficient to indict. In this connection, you should also know that the prosecution's burden of proof before a grand jury is much lower than beyond a reasonable doubt and that for this reason grand juries frequently indict persons who are found to be not guilty by trial juries.

        For all these reasons, it would be a violation of your oath as jurors, to place any weight whatsoever on the fact that a grand jury indicted _____________________ (name of defendant).

RELATED NCJIC MATERIALS:

See generally NCJIC 12.2 [Preliminary Instructions: Role Of Charging Document].

See also NCJIC 12.2.2 [Charging Document Is Not Evidence].

See also NCJIC 270.1.3 [Role Of Charging Document].