Opinion ID: 1663395
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Responsibility of jury and judge.

Text: You have now been sworn as the jury to try this case. This is a civil case involving a disputed claim or claims between the parties. Those claims and other matters will be explained to you later. By your verdict[s], you will decide the disputed issues of fact. I will decide the questions of law that arise during the trial, and before you retire to deliberate at the close of the trial, I will instruct you on the law that you are to follow and apply in reaching your verdict[s]. In other words, it is your responsibility to determine the facts and to apply the law to those facts. Thus, the function of the jury and the function of the judge are well defined, and they do not overlap. This is one of the fundamental principles of our system of justice. Reaching a verdict is exclusively your job. I cannot participate in that decision in any way. You should not speculate about how I might evaluate the testimony of any witness or any other evidence in this case, and you should not think that I prefer one verdict over another. Therefore, in reaching your verdict, you should not consider anything that I say or do, except for my specific instructions to you.