These standard jury instructions have been produced over decades by the Florida Supreme Court Standard Jury Instructions Committee (Civil). The committee was established by the Court in 1967. The instructions have been revised continuously through the years. Until 2020, the promulgation of all amendments and additions required acquiescence by the Florida Supreme Court, although the court never opined regarding the correctness of the instructions. In 2020, the Court removed itself from all involvement in developing standard jury instructions, to eliminate “any misconception that [the Court had] ‘adopted,’ ‘approved,’ or otherwise ruled on [their] legal correctness.” In re Amendments to Florida Rules of Judicial Admin., Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, & Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure-Standard Jury Instructions,__So. 3d ___, 45 Fla. L. Weekly S121, 2020 WL 1593030, *2 (Fla. Mar. 5, 2020).[1] The Court empowered the committee “to develop and approve, by two-thirds vote, new and amended standard jury instructions” with autonomy. Id.; Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.270.
Because it is impossible to cover every circumstance with standard instructions, they are provided here only for the types of cases, primarily torts, that occur with enough frequency to have warranted their preparation. Because the law changes, these instructions may become outdated or need to be revised or supplemented.
Parties are free to contest a standard instruction’s legal correctness, or to request additional or alternative instructions. Any modification of a standard jury instruction should comply with Rule 2.580(a), Florida Rules of Judicial Administration. If a modified instruction is used, the party receiving the modified instruction must send a copy of the modified instruction to the committee. Id.
A. Start With the Basics.
When compiling a set of proposed instructions, the following minimum steps should be taken:
- Determine the complete, current, law required for the jury in your case.
- Make sure you are using the current version of Florida Standard Jury Instructions. If you are using the printed book of instructions, “Florida Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases,” ensure that all updates from The Florida Bar are inserted. Whether you are using the digital version of the instructions or the printed book, you should check the committee’s website for pending amendments to the instructions.
B. Using These Standard Instructions for the First Time.
These instructions contain a core of four sections, arranged in the order in which the trial judge will normally instruct the jury. The substantive instructions for each type of claim are contained in a single section, followed by damage instructions, general instructions, and closing instructions. Additional sections cover oaths, voir dire, instructions for evidentiary and supplemental issues, verdict forms, and model instructions.
The model instructions show how a set of instructions is customarily assembled (though formats vary somewhat by local custom and judicial preference). Even if not specifically applicable to your particular case, the model instructions can assist you in organizing your proposed instructions. Remember that standard instructions and model instructions may not fully cover the law in any given case, and case-specific instructions may be required.
C. Finding the Right Instructions.
The instructions are listed by subject matter in the table of contents and in alphabetical order by name in the index. At the start of each section, there is a list of the instructions in that section. All instructions are numbered and presented in numerical order. An instruction may be located by number by quickly scanning the numbers in the running heads. All substantive instructions for a particular claim have been grouped together. Refer to instructions by number to facilitate cross-referencing in electronic versions, in case citations, and in publications by other publishers.
D. Drafting Case-Specific Instructions.
In most cases, standard jury instructions will be used to instruct the jury in whole or in part. However, standard instructions on substantive issues have not been developed for certain types of cases. The trial judge has the responsibility to choose and give appropriate and complete instructions in a given case, whether or not the instructions are “standard.” See, e.g., In the matter of the use by the trial courts of the Standard Jury Instructions, 198 So.2d 319 (Fla. 1967).
When drafting case-specific instructions, the format, sequence, and technique used in the standard instructions should be followed to the extent possible. The model instructions may be helpful in this regard. Any instructions on introductory and procedural matters must be used to the extent that they correctly apply in a given case. Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.570(a)[2] addresses the procedure to be followed when varying from the standard jury instructions.
E. Providing Written Instructions to the Jury.
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.470(b) requires the trial court to furnish a written copy of its instructions to each juror. All instructions must be included. All Bank Repos, Inc. v. Underwriters of Lloyds of London, 582 So.2d 692, 695 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). The committee strongly encourages the trial court to provide the written set of all instructions to the jury prior to the court’s oral instruction, so that jurors can follow along when the instructions are read aloud. The Committee also encourages attorneys to file a copy of the instructions as given to the jury as well as any proposed instructions rejected by the trial court. When assembling instructions that will be supplied to the jury, omit all titles, comments, and instructional notes.
F. When Instructions Should Be Given.
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.470(b) provides that instructions may be given during the trial and either before or after final argument. The timing of instructions is a matter within the sound discretion of the trial judge.
The committee envisions that before voir dire, the judge will give a brief explanation of the case (see Instruction 201.1). Once the jury has been selected and before opening statements have been given, the judge will give the preliminary instructions and may give substantive instructions, if requested (see Model Instruction No. 1, Appendix A). In most cases, the committee believes that it will be possible to give the jury a complete set of instructions. There will, however, be instances in which some instructions may depend on the admission of certain evidence or rulings from the court and it will not be possible to give a complete set of instructions. In those instances, the committee recommends giving a set of instructions as complete as possible to the jury.
These instructions are organized to facilitate giving the final instructions before final argument. The committee also strongly recommends that the court consider giving the substantive law instructions before final argument of counsel (see Model Instruction No. 1, Appendix A). If instructions are given prior to final argument, the final procedural instructions, section 700, must be given after final arguments are concluded.
G. Individual Sections of These Instructions.
SECTION 101: OATHS, contains the standard oaths that may be necessary before and during trial.SECTION 200: PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTIONS, contains instructions for use during jury selection and after the jury has been selected and sworn. The instructions for after the jury has been selected include the duties and conduct of the jury.
SECTION 300: EVIDENCE INSTRUCTIONS, contains instructions on how the jury must deal with various items of evidence or rulings of the court.
SECTION 400: SUBSTANTIVE INSTRUCTIONS, contains the principal issues to be resolved by the jury and the legal principles that govern the resolution of those issues, organized according to specific causes of action. For example, in negligence cases, the instructions that frame the basic issues in most cases are as follows:
401.1 Introduction
401.2 Summary of Claims
401.3 Greater Weight of the Evidence
401.4 Negligence
401.12 Legal Cause
401.18 Issues on Plaintiff’s Claim — General Negligence
401.21 Burden of Proof on Main Claim
401.22 Defense Issues
401.23 Burden of Proof on Defense Issues
It may not be sufficient in all cases merely to define and submit these basic issues to the jury. It may be necessary to instruct the jury preemptively with respect to some aspect of a plaintiff’s claim such as, for example, if the defendant is responsible for the conduct of another person, or to withdraw from the jury’s consideration an issue about which there has been some controversy during the trial. It may also be necessary to instruct the jury concerning a preliminary issue, such as vicarious liability, or the status of a person on a premises (See, e.g., Instructions 401.14 and 401.16).
Section 400 contains similar instructions for other causes of action. The instructions in section 400 are suitable for framing the issues regardless of whether the claim made is an original claim, a counterclaim, or a cross-claim. These instructions may also be used when one party makes two or more claims in the same action, as when a plaintiff sues two or more defendants claiming separate and distinct acts of negligence resulting in one injury.
In most cases in which a claimant asserts that a defendant was negligent in two or more distinct ways, or that two or more defendants were negligent and that they are jointly liable to him, it will be practical to give the issues and definition instructions one time only, making it applicable to all of the claims. In cases in which there is a counterclaim or cross-claim, the court will ordinarily concentrate on each claim separately, selecting the instructions from section 400 that are appropriate to that particular claim, charge the jury with respect to the issues on that claim including defense issues, and return again to the beginning of section 400 to give the instructions appropriate to the issues on the next claim.
SECTION 500: DAMAGES, contains instructions on damages arranged so that the various elements of damage proper for consideration in any given case may be selected. The model charges contain guidance on straightforward and complicated or multiple claim cases. It is up to the judge to find a convenient manner to instruct on multiple claims without misleading the jury.
SECTION 600: SUBSTANTIVE INSTRUCTIONS — GENERAL, contains basic instructions necessary in almost every case, such as weighing evidence.
SECTION 700: CLOSING INSTRUCTIONS, sets forth instructions to be given after closing arguments and before deliberations.
SECTION 800: SUPPLEMENTAL MATTERS, sets forth instructions for issues during jury deliberation and for discharging the jury.
APPENDICES, Appendices A and B are provided to assist the user in preparing instructions and verdict forms. Appendices C and E contain prior versions of the punitive damages and emergency medical treatment instructions.
H. Variance from Standard Instructions.
The trial judge has the discretion to insert or omit minor words in a given instruction for clarity. The committee does not discourage such minor editorial modifications to conform a standard instruction to a given case or circumstance, provided the substance of the instruction is unchanged. The committee has done so in preparing some of the model charges.
I. Use of Special Verdicts.
Special verdicts are required or used in many cases. When that occurs, the committee recommends that the questions on the special verdict be incorporated into the jury instructions (see Model Instruction No. 1, Appendix A). An ideal place to do so is in the Burden of Proof instructions, where the “your verdict should be …” language should be changed to “answer question number ___ yes (or no).” This will be assist the jury in understanding how to decide the case and complete the special verdict form. Model Verdict Forms are contained in Appendix B.
J. Understanding the Signals in These Standard Instructions.
Boldface type, brackets, parentheses, and italics are used in standard instructions to give directions, as follows:
Boldface
Boldface type identifies words that the trial judge should speak aloud to instruct the jury. A paragraph typeset as follows, for example, should be read aloud in its entirety.
Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care, which is the care that a reasonably careful person would use under like circumstances. Negligence is doing something that a reasonably careful person would not do under like circumstances or in failing to do something that a reasonably careful person would do under like circumstances.
Brackets
[Brackets] express variables or alternatives within the text that are to be spoken aloud to the jury. In a sentence typeset as follows, for example, one or more of the applicable variables enclosed in brackets should be read aloud and included in the instructions.
Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care. Reasonable care on the part of a [physician] [hospital] [health care provider] is that level of care, skill, and treatment which, in light of all relevant surrounding circumstances, is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by similar and reasonably careful [physicians] [hospitals] [health care providers]. Negligence on the part of a [physician] [hospital] [health care provider] is doing something a reasonably careful [physician] [hospital] [health care provider] would not do under like circumstances or in failing to do something that a reasonably careful [physician] [hospital] [health care provider] would do under like circumstances.
Bracketed material always appears in boldface type because some or all of the enclosed words must be spoken aloud and provided as part of the instruction. The Notes on Use often provide guidance on the variables appropriate in a given circumstance.
Parentheses
(Parentheses) signify the need to insert a proper name, a specific item or element, or some other variable that must be supplied by the trial judge. For example, in the following sentence, the designations in parentheses should be replaced with the names of the parties and the specific acts of negligence alleged.
The [next] issues on (claimant’s) claim for you to decide are whether (defendant) was negligent in (describe negligence); and, if so, whether that negligence was a legal cause of the [loss] [injury]