Title: In re Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases Report No. 12-02
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: SC12-1818
State: Florida
Issuer: Florida Supreme Court
Date: May 23, 2013

Supreme Court of Florida 
 
 
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No. SC12-1818 
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IN RE:  STANDARD JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN CIVIL CASES — 
REPORT NO. 12-02. 
 
[May 23, 2013] 
 
PER CURIAM. 
 
The Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases 
(Committee) has filed a report proposing changes to the standard jury instructions 
and asking the Court to authorize the amended standard instructions.  We have 
jurisdiction.  See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. 
 
Following publication of its proposals in The Florida Bar News, the 
Committee filed its report proposing two amendments to instruction 201.2 
(Introduction of Participants and Their Roles), an amendment to Section 700 
(Closing Instructions), and an amendment to the Note on Use to instruction 801.2 
(Read-Back of Testimony).  The Committee did not receive any comments 
pertaining to the published proposals. 
 
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As discussed below, we amend the standard civil jury instructions as 
proposed by the Committee and authorize the amended jury instructions for 
publication and use.  In addition, on the Court’s own motion, we amend Model 
Instructions Nos. 1-6 consistent with the amendment to Section 700—Closing 
Instructions. 
 
First, we amend instruction 201.2 (Introduction of Participants and Their 
Roles), which currently assumes that parties to a civil lawsuit are represented by 
counsel.  The amended instruction explains the roles of the plaintiff and the 
defendant, directs counsel for the parties to introduce their clients to the jury, and 
accounts for the occurrence of pro se parties.  In addition, we amend instruction 
201.2 in light of Lamz v. Geico General Insurance Co., 803 So. 2d 593 (Fla. 2001), 
to provide for the introduction of a defendant uninsured or underinsured motorist 
insurance carrier where applicable.  In Lamz, the Court held that plaintiffs are 
entitled to have their uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance carrier specifically 
identified as such, when the carrier has been properly joined as a defendant.  Id.  In 
so holding, the Court stated that “failure to specifically identify the underinsured 
carrier as such leaves the jury to speculate about the exact role of the plaintiff’s 
carrier in the lawsuit, perpetuating the ‘charades in trials’ [previously] denounced 
by [the] Court in Dosdourian[ v. Carsten, 624 So. 2d 241 (Fla. 1993)].”  Id. at 595.  
 
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We also amend the “Note on Use for 201.2” to explain why the new language in 
the instruction is added. 
 
Next, we amend Section 700 (Closing Instructions) to remove language 
contrary to the Committee’s original intent, thus, deleting the following:  “After 
you have decided what the facts are, you may find that some instructions do not 
apply.  In that case, follow the instructions that do apply and use them together 
with the facts to reach your verdict.”  In addition, on the Court’s own motion, we 
amend Model Instructions Nos. 1-6 consistent with the amendment to Section 700 
(Closing Instructions). 
 
 Finally, we amend the Note on Use to instruction 801.2 (Read-Back of 
Testimony) in two ways.  First, the amendment reflects the Court’s decision in 
Johnson v. State, 53 So. 3d 1003 (Fla. 2010), holding that, when preserved, it is per 
se reversible error for a trial judge to tell the jury that they are prohibited from 
requesting a read-back of testimony.  Accordingly, the Note on Use to instruction 
801.2 (Read-Back of Testimony) is amended to include the following note: 
 
 
1.  In civil cases, the decision to allow read-back of testimony 
lies within the sound discretion of the trial court.  Broward County 
School Bd. v. Ruiz, 493 So. 2d 474, 479-480 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986).  
However, the trial court must not tell jurors that they are prohibited 
from requesting a read-back of testimony.  Johnson v. State, 53 So. 3d 
1003 (Fla. 2010). 
 
 
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Second, we amend the note on use to reflect that testimony read back to the jury 
must be done in open court and that transcripts or tapes of testimony must not be 
sent back to the jury room, and that these matters are not discretionary. 
 
The instructions, as set forth in the appendix to this opinion, are authorized 
for publication and use.  New language is indicated by underlining and deleted 
language is indicated by struck-through type.  In authorizing the publication and 
use of these instructions, we express no opinion on the correctness of the 
instructions and remind all interested parties that this authorization forecloses 
neither requesting an additional or alternative instruction nor contesting the legal 
correctness of the instructions.  We further caution all interested parties that any 
notes and comments associated with the instructions reflect only the opinion of the 
Committee and are not necessarily indicative of the views of this Court as to their 
correctness or applicability.   The instructions shall be effective when this opinion 
becomes final. 
 
It is so ordered. 
 
POLSTON, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANADY, LABARGA, 
and PERRY, JJ., concur. 
 
THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE 
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Original Proceedings – Standard Jury Instructions - Civil Cases 
 
Judge James Manly Barton, II, Chair, Supreme Court Committee on Jury 
Instructions – Civil Cases, Tampa, Florida, Joseph Hagedorn Lang, Jr., 
Subcommittee Chair, Supreme Court Filing Subcommittee, Carlton Fields, P.A., 
Tampa, Florida, and Rebecca Mercier Vargas, Subcommittee Chair, Errors and 
Omissions Subcommittee, Kreusler-Walsh, Compiani & Vargas, P.A., West Palm 
Beach, Florida, John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director, and Jodi Beth Jennings, 
Staff Liaison, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida,  
 
for Petitioner 
 
 
 
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APPENDIX 
201.2 INTRODUCTION OF PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR ROLES 
 
Who are the people here and what do they do?  
 
 
Judge/Court: I am the Judge. You may hear people occasionally refer to 
me as “The Court.” That is the formal name for my role. My job is to 
maintain order and decide how to apply the rules of the law to the trial. I will 
also explain various rules to you that you will need to know in order to do 
your job as the jury. It is my job to remain neutral on the issues of this 
lawsuit.  
 
 
Parties: A party who files a lawsuit is called the Plaintiff. A party that is 
sued is called the Defendant. 
 
Attorneys: The attorneys to whom I will introduce you have the job of 
representing their clients. That is,means
 
 they speak for their client here at the 
trial. They have taken oaths as attorneys to do their best and to follow the 
rules for their profession.  
 
Plaintiff’s Counsel: The attorney on this side of the courtroom, (introduce 
by name), represents (client name) and is the person who filed the lawsuit here 
at the courthouse. [His] [Her] job is to present [his] [her] client’s side of things 
to you. [He] [She] and [his] [her] client will be referred to most of the time as 
“the plaintiff.”
 
 (Attorney name), will you please introduce who is sitting at the 
table with you? 
 
[Plaintiff without Counsel: (Introduce claimant by name), on this side of the 
courtroom, is the person who filed the lawsuit at the courthouse. (Claimant) is 
not represented by an attorney and will present [his] [her] side of things to 
you [himself] [herself]. 
 
Defendant’s Counsel: The attorney on this side of the courtroom, 
(introduce by name), represents (client name), the one who has been sued. [His] 
[Her] job is to present [his] [her] client’s side of things to you. [He] [She] and 
[his] [her] client will usually be referred to here as “the defendant.”
 
 (Attorney 
name), will you please introduce who is sitting at the table with you? 
 
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[Defendant’s Counsel: The attorney on this side of the courtroom, 
(introduce by name), represents (client name), the one who has been sued. [His] 
[Her] job is to present [his] [her] client’s side of things to you. [He] [She] and 
[his] [her] client will usually be referred to here as “the defendant.” [His] 
[Her] client (defendant uninsured or underinsured motorist carrier) is (claimant’s 
name) motor vehicle insurance company and provided [him] [her] [uninsured] 
[underinsured] motorist coverage, which may be available to pay some or all 
of the damages that may be awarded.]* 
 
*Use the bracketed paragraph above when the case involves an uninsured 
or underinsured motorist carrier. 
[Defendant without Counsel: (Introduce defendant by name), on this side of the 
courtroom, is the one who has been sued. (Defendant) is not represented by an 
attorney and will present [his] [her] side of things to you [himself] [herself]. 
 
 
Court Clerk: This person sitting in front of me, (name), is the court clerk. 
[He] [She] is here to assist me with some of the mechanics of the trial process, 
including the numbering and collection of the exhibits that are introduced in 
the course of the trial.  
 
 
Court Reporter: The person sitting at the stenographic machine, (name), 
is the court reporter. [His] [Her] job is to keep an accurate legal record of 
everything we say and do during this trial.  
 
 
Bailiff: The person over there, (name), is the bailiff. [His] [Her] job is to 
maintain order and security in the courtroom. The bailiff is also my - 15 -  
representative to the jury. Anything you need or any problems that come up 
for you during the course of the trial should be brought to [him] [her]. 
However, the bailiff cannot answer any of your questions about the case. Only 
I can do that. 
 
 
Jury: Last, but not least, is the jury, which we will begin to select in a 
few moments from among all of you. The jury’s job will be to decide what the 
facts are and what the facts mean. Jurors should be as neutral as possible at 
this point and have no fixed opinion about the lawsuit.  
 
 
In order to have a fair and lawful trial, there are rules that all jurors 
must follow. A basic rule is that jurors must decide the case only on the 
evidence presented in the courtroom. You must not communicate with 
 
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anyone, including friends and family members, about this case, the people and 
places involved, or your jury service. You must not disclose your thoughts 
about this case or ask for advice on how to decide this case.   
 
 
 
I want to stress that this rule means you must not use electronic devices 
or computers to communicate about this case, including tweeting, texting, 
blogging, e-mailing, posting information on a website or chat room, or any 
other means at all. Do not send or accept any messages to or from anyone 
about this case or your jury service.  
 
 
You must not do any research or look up words, names, [maps], or 
anything else that may have anything to do with this case. This includes 
reading newspapers, watching television or using a computer, cell phone, the 
Internet, any electronic device, or any other means at all, to get information 
related to this case or the people and places involved in this case. This applies 
whether you are in the courthouse, at home, or anywhere else.  
 
 
All of us are depending on you to follow these rules, so that there will be 
a fair and lawful resolution to this case. Unlike questions that you may be 
allowed to ask in court, which will be answered in court in the presence of the 
judge and the parties, if you investigate, research or make inquiries on your 
own outside of the courtroom, the trial judge has no way to assure they are 
proper and relevant to the case. The parties likewise have no opportunity to 
dispute the accuracy of what you find or to provide rebuttal evidence to it. 
That is contrary to our judicial system, which assures every party the right to 
ask questions about and rebut the evidence being considered against it and to 
present argument with respect to that evidence. Non-court inquiries and 
investigations unfairly and improperly prevent the parties from having that 
opportunity our judicial system promises. If you become aware of any 
violation of these instructions or any other instruction I give in this case, you 
must tell me by giving a note to the bailiff.