THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin
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Collection Table of Contents
Witness Discussing Testimony With Others
1.
Witness Discussing Testimony With Other Witnesses: Jury May View Testimony
Of
Both With Distrust
2. Witness Present In
Courtroom During Other Testimony
3. Conspiracy: Discussion
Among Conspirators To Present Same Version In
Hopes Of Concessions From
Government
THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin
1. Witness Discussing Testimony With Other Witnesses: Jury May View Testimony Of Both With Distrust
ALERT: Carefully review the Caveats and Disclaimers before using these materials.
SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 1:
Any witness who is shown to have discussed his or her prior testimony with another witness may have attempted to insure that their testimony will be consistent. If the jury concludes that such has occurred, it may view the testimony of both witnesses with distrust.
SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 2:
If a witness attempts to elicit from other prospective witnesses testimony which will be consistent with (his/her) own, you may consider this fact in determining whether to believe the testimony of the witness who so acted.
CASES WHERE THE ABOVE INSTRUCTION WAS GIVEN:
United States v. Mattson, Special Court-Martial, Coast Guard (U.S.C.G. Group, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1976).
SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 3:
The testimony of a witness who contacted another witness to guarantee that their versions of an event would be the same should be viewed with distrust.
SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 4:
In this case the Court excluded witnesses in accordance with the __________ (state/federal) Rules of Evidence. A corollary of this exclusionary order was that the witnesses would not discuss their testimony among themselves, whether before or after testifying. Thus, if you find that two witnesses discussed their testimony outside the courtroom in order to clear up areas of possible conflict, prior to one of them testifying at trial, you may take this into consideration in weighing the testimony of these witnesses.
AUTHORITY:
See discussion in United States v. Pollack, 640 F2d 1152 (10th Cir. 1981).
SAMPLE INSTRUCTION # 5:
In considering the testimony of witnesses, you may consider whether they met prior to trial, discussed their proposed testimony and attempted to resolve inconsistencies in their recollections.
RELATED SHELLOW MATERIALS:
See also THE SHELLOW COLLECTION: Witnesses Generally.
See also THE SHELLOW COLLECTION: Witness Credibility: Generally & Miscellaneous.
RELATED NCJIC MATERIALS:
See generally NCJIC Chapter 27: Witness Credibility.
THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin
2. Witness Present In Courtroom During Other Testimony
ALERT: Carefully review the Caveats and Disclaimers before using these materials.
SAMPLE INSTRUCTION:
In weighing the testimony of any witness, you may consider whether that witness was present in the courtroom during the testimony of other witnesses and whether this fact influenced (his/her) testimony.
CASES WHERE THE ABOVE INSTRUCTION WAS GIVEN:
State v. Loveday, No. H-7717 (Circuit Court, Milwaukee County, 1973).
RELATED SHELLOW MATERIALS:
See also THE SHELLOW COLLECTION: Witnesses Generally.
See also THE SHELLOW COLLECTION: Witness Credibility: Generally & Miscellaneous.
RELATED NCJIC MATERIALS:
See generally NCJIC Chapter 27: Witness Credibility.
THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin
3. Conspiracy: Discussion Among Conspirators To Present Same Version In Hopes Of Concessions From Government
ALERT: Carefully review the Caveats and Disclaimers before using these materials.
SAMPLE INSTRUCTION:
Evidence that persons who claimed they were members of a conspiracy met and discussed the government's investigation before they agreed to cooperate with the government may permit the inference that they agreed to present the same version to the government in return for concessions which they hoped to receive.
RELATED SHELLOW MATERIALS:
See also THE SHELLOW COLLECTION: Witnesses Generally.
See also THE SHELLOW COLLECTION: Witness Credibility: Generally & Miscellaneous.
See also THE SHELLOW COLLECTION: Conspiracy.
RELATED NCJIC MATERIALS:
See generally NCJIC Chapter 27: Witness Credibility.
See generally NCJIC Chapter 83: Conspiracy.