California DUI Jury Instructions

Under the American judicial system, juries are the trier of fact when they serve in a trial. In other words, it is the jury's responsibility to sort through disputed accounts presented in evidence. The judge decides questions of law, meaning the judge decides how the law applies to the various accounts of witnesses and evidence presented to the jury. Instructions provide something of a flow chart on what verdict jurors should deliver based on what they determine to be true.

At the end of a California DUI jury trial the judge instructs the jury on the law applicable to a particular case by reading jury instructions.

Most California judges use CALCRIM instructions. Some judges use the older CALJIC instructions. The jury is entitled to have a copy or multiple copies of the jury instructions in writing in the jury room if individual jurors or the jury as a whole request them.

Jury instructions attempt to explain the various laws which apply to a particular DUI case. Jury instructions are always the subject of discussion by attorneys on both sides of the case and the judge during a chamber's conference in order to make sure the interests of each side are represented and nothing improper is said in front of the jury.