Supreme Court of Missouri
en banc

 
MAI 2.00(B) RECOMMENDED ADMONITIONS AT RECESS OR ADJOURNMENT –
GENERAL COMMENT



1.  Revision of previously approved MAI-CIVIL General Comment as listed above, having been prepared by the Committee on Jury Instructions - Civil and reviewed by the Court, is hereby adopted and approved.
 
2.  The General Comment adopted as set forth in the specific exhibits attached hereto must be used on and after January 1, 2015, and may be used prior thereto; any such use shall not be presumed to be error.
 
3.  It is further ordered that this order and the specific exhibits attached hereto shall be published in the South Western Reporter and the Journal of The Missouri Bar.

Day - to - Day
 
_____________________________
MARY R. RUSSELL
Chief Justice


2.00(B) [2015 Revision] Recommended Admonitions at Recess or Adjournment – General
Comment

A. Directions or admonitions given by a trial judge to a jury during the course of trial are not instructions. Since directions or admonitions are not instructions, they need not be typed or given to the jury when they retire to the jury room unless the trial court deems it to be appropriate in accordance with subparagraph C. Examples of such directions or admonitions include a direction not to visit the scene of an accident or an oral repetition of the admonition to refrain from discussing the case during a recess. Considerable discretion is afforded to the trial judge, subject to appropriate requests or objections of counsel, to determine the scope and frequency of such directions or admonitions.

B. Directions or admonitions may be derived from parts of MAI 2.01 as may be appropriate under the circumstances of a particular case or may be otherwise fashioned by the court with assistance of counsel. The trial court should make a record of proposed admonitions or directions intended to be given to the jury, and an opportunity should be afforded to counsel to make requests, objections, or other record for appeal.

C. Such directions or admonitions may be used at the beginning of a case, before jury selection, throughout the trial, at each break in trial proceedings, and at the conclusion of each day. The trial court may decide that some directions or admonitions may be best delivered orally, by standardized typed cards for each juror, as a page in juror notebooks, by some combination thereof, or by some other method in the exercise of sound discretion. The Committee does not intend to set rigorous requirements for the use of directions or admonitions, for the frequency of delivery thereof, nor for occasional omission thereof. The guiding principles should always be the efficient administration of justice, fairness to the parties, and imparting to the jury the importance of their individual and group roles in participating in our system of justice.

D. The following directions or admonitions may be of assistance to the bench and bar, but are not intended by the Committee to be mandatory, exclusive, or exhaustive. Other directions or admonitions may also be appropriate under the circumstances of a given case.
 
(General Recess)

1. I will now remind you that you must not talk about any aspect of the trial among yourselves or with anyone else, including the parties, the lawyers, or court personnel. You must keep an open mind and refrain from forming or expressing any opinions on the case. Do not read, view, or listen to any newspaper, radio, or television reports about the trial. Do not do any research or investigation on your own regarding the case, the parties, the witnesses, or the lawyers. Until you are discharged as jurors, the prohibition on electronic communications and Internet use related to the case is in effect.

This ban applies to all electronic devices, [such as smart-phones, lap-tops, or iPads]; all forms of electronic communication, [such as email, text messages, or blogging]; and Internet research tools and social media [like Google, Facebook, or Twitter] [(insert current examples)]. You are still free to use electronic communications and the Internet outside of the courtroom, but only for purposes wholly unrelated to this case.

[I again remind you if any of you break these rules, it may result in a miscarriage
of justice and a new trial may be required.]


(General Recess)

2. Justice requires that you not make up your mind about the case until all of the evidence has been seen and heard. You must not discuss this case among yourselves or with anyone else or comment on anything you hear or learn in this trial until the case is concluded and you retire to the jury room for your deliberations. Also, you must not remain in the presence of anyone who is discussing the case when the court is not in session.

[I again remind you if any of you break these rules, it may result in a miscarriage
of justice and a new trial may be required.]


(General Reminder - No Investigation)

3. You must not conduct your own research or investigation into any issues in this case. You must not visit the scene of any of the incidents described in this case. You must not conduct any independent research or obtain any information of any type by reference to any person, textbooks, dictionaries, magazines, the use of the Internet, or any other means about any issues in this case or any witnesses, parties, lawyers, medical or scientific terminology, or evidence that is in any way involved in this trial. You are not permitted to communicate, use a cell phone, record, photograph, video, e-mail, text message, instant message, blog, tweet, or post anything about this trial or your thoughts or opinions about any issue in this case to any other person or to the Internet, "Facebook", "Myspace", "Twitter", or any other personal or public web site during the course of this trial or at any time before the formal acceptance of your verdict by me at the end of the case.

[I again remind you if any of you break these rules, it may result in a miscarriage
of justice and a new trial may be required.]