Jury Instructions

Resources for Jury Instructions

This legal research guide features links to official jury instructions in all states where official instructions are available online. Current and historical jury instructions for Illinois are available in print at all Law Library locations. The Daley Center main library has an extensive archive of jury instructions for most states. For resources available within the Law Library see our catalog.

I. State

II. Federal

III. Topical

I. State

Jury instructions for some states may require state bar association membership or paid subscription. Current and historical jury instructions for most states are also available in print at the Daley Center Main Library. Illinois jury instructions are available at all Law Library branch locations.

• Alabama

  • Alabama Pattern Jury Instructions, Criminal Proceedings

• Alaska

  • Civil Pattern Jury Instructions
  • Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions

• Arizona

  • Revised Jury Instructions, Civil - State Bar of Arizona Civil Jury Instructions Committee. Links to current jury instructions located in middle of page.

• Arkansas

  • Model Jury Instructions, Civil

• California

  • California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI)
  • California Criminal Jury Instructions (CALCRIM)

• Colorado

  • Model Criminal Jury Instructions

• Connecticut

  • Civil Jury Instructions
  • Criminal Jury Instructions

• Delaware

  • Civil Pattern Jury Instructions
  • Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions

• Florida

  • Standard Jury Instructions - Civil, Criminal, Contract, and Involuntary Civil Commitment Jury Instructions.

• Georgia

  • Pattern Jury Instructions - Subscription required. There are currently no free sources of Georgia Pattern Jury Instructions.

• ​Hawai`i

  • Civil & Criminal Jury Instructions - Amendments to the Civil Instructions through October 2009 and to the Criminal Instructions through June 2005 are incorporated into the main text; more recent amendments are in separate documents.

• Idaho

  • Civil Jury Instructions
  • Criminal Jury Instructions
  • Death Penalty Criminal Jury Instructions

• Illinois

  • Pattern Jury Instructions, Civil
  • Pattern Jury Instructions, Criminal

• Indiana

  • Model Civil Jury Instructions and Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions

• Iowa

  • Civil & Criminal Jury Instructions - Requires Iowa State Bar Association membership.

• Kansas

  • Pattern Instructions for Kansas: Civil (PIK - Civil) 4th - Subscription required.
  • Pattern Instructions for Kansas: Criminal (PIK - Criminal) 4th - Subscription required.

• Kentucky

  • Jury Instructions - LawReader.com subscription required.

• Louisiana

  • Plain Civil Jury Instructions

• Michigan

  • Model Civil Jury Instructions
  • Model Criminal Jury Instructions

• Mississippi

  • Mississippi Model Jury Instructions (MMJI) Civil & Criminal

• Missouri

  • Missouri Approved Instructions, Civil & Criminal - Includes only orders updating the instructions. Full criminal instructions available with Missouri Bar Association membership. Individual civil instructions available by contacting the Missouri Supreme Court Library.

• Montana

  • Criminal Jury Instructions

• Nebraska

  • Jury Instructions Bank - Searchable database of jury instructions. Search by judge, case type, category, or date.

• New Hampshire

  • Criminal Jury Instructions

• New Jersey

  • Model Civil Jury Charges
  • Criminal Model Charges 

• New Mexico

  • Uniform Jury Instructions, Civil
  • Uniform Jury Instructions, Criminal

• New York

  • Civil Pattern Jury Instructions - Recent updates only.
  • Criminal Jury Instructions (CJI)

• North Carolina

  • North Carolina Pattern Jury Instructions (NCPJI) - Subscription required.

• North Dakota

  • North Dakota Pattern Jury Instructions (NDPJI), Civil & Criminal

• Ohio

  • Ohio Jury Instructions (OJI) - Requires Ohio Bar Association membership.
  • Franklin County Criminal Law Casebook Jury Instructions

• Oklahoma

  • Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions (STOKJU) - Includes Civil, Criminal, and Juvenile Jury Instructions.

• Tennessee

  • Pattern Jury Instructions, Criminal - Updates only.

• Texas

  • Jury Charge Bank - Searchable database from the Harris County District Courts website.
  • Texas Pattern Jury Charges - Compilation of definitions, jury instructions, and supplemental material, intended to assist  with developing jury charges. Published by State Bar of Texas

• Utah

  • Model Utah Jury Instructions (MUJI) - Includes Civil and Criminal Instructions.

• Vermont

  • Model Criminal Jury Instructions - Also available via the Vermont Bar Association (VBA) website.

• Virginia

  • Criminal Jury Instructions - From the Office of the Rockbridge County and the City of Lexington Commonwealth's Attorney.

• Washington (State)

  • Civil Jury Instructions
  • Criminal Jury Instructions

• West Virginia

  • Criminal Jury Instructions (pdf)

• Wisconsin

  • Specific jury instructions may be ordered from the Wisconsin State Law Library.

II. Federal

Note that there are no published jury instructions for the Second Circuit. Some Circuits lack published civil jury instructions.

• First Circuit Pattern Jury Instructions (Civil and Criminal)

• Third Circuit Model Jury Instructions (Civil & Criminal)

• Fourth Circuit Pattern Jury Instructions (Criminal) (pdf)

• Fifth Circuit Jury Instructions (Civil & Criminal) - Also includes links to Model Patent Jury Instructions and Jury Instructions for other Circuits.

• Sixth Circuit Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions - Also available in pdf format.

• Seventh Circuit Pattern Civil & Criminal Jury Instructions

• Eighth Circuit Jury Instructions (Civil & Criminal)

• Ninth Circuit Manuals of Model Jury Instructions (Civil & Criminal)

• Tenth Circuit Criminal Jury Instructions (pdf)

• Eleventh Circuit Pattern Jury Instructions Builder - Includes Civil and Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions.

III. Topical

• Admiralty and Maritime Law Jury Instructions

• Criminal Tax Manual Jury Instructions (pdf)

• Model Patent Jury Instructions -  From the Federal Circuit Bar Association.

• Model Patent Jury Instructions - From the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)

PLEASE NOTE: The websites listed in this guide are for information only and are not endorsed or supported by the Cook County Law Library. Please independently verify the accuracy and currency of all information. Consult an attorney for legal advice.

Compiled by Jean Wenger

Updated March 2021 by David Sanborne