What is the purpose of jury instructions?

Jury instructions serve a crucial role in the legal process by providing jurors with guidance on the applicable law and standards they must consider when deliberating a case. These instructions outline the legal framework relevant to the case and clarify how the jurors should apply those laws to the facts they have found during the trial. This guidance is vital for ensuring that jurors make well-informed decisions based on legal principles rather than personal views or biases.

While other potential options might touch on aspects of the legal process, they do not capture the primary objective of jury instructions. For example, summarizing the case does provide context but does not help jurors understand the laws they need to apply. Evaluating witness credibility is a function of the jurors themselves, informed by their assessment of evidence rather than separate instructions. Likewise, defining the roles of attorneys relates more to courtroom procedure than to the jurors’ task in interpreting and applying the law. Therefore, the main purpose of jury instructions is to guide jurors in their understanding and application of the law relevant to the case at hand.