Vermont Model Criminal Jury Instructions

February 15, 2019: The Committee has added a new reporter’s note to accompany instruction CR07-091, “The Aggressor and Self-Defense.”

January 18, 2019: The Committee has revised the instructions and reporter’s notes for Lewdness and the reporter’s notes for the Prohibited Acts crimes in light of In re K.A., 2016 VT 52, ¶ 21, 202 Vt. 86 and 13 V.S.A. § 2601a.

January 2, 2019: The Committee has posted a revised instruction and new Reporter’s Note for the defense of entrapment, available here.

October 18, 2018: The Committee has drafted a new instruction for when a criminal offense is charged as a hate crime under 13 V.S.A. § 1455. The instruction and an accompanying reporter’s note are available here.

October 18, 2018: The Committee has revised the reporter’s notes for homicide to include references to three recent Supreme Court cases: In re Sharrow, 2017 VT 69; State v. Webster, 2017 VT 98; and State v. Baird, 2017 VT 78. The revised notes now also include a brief discussion of felony murder.

July 19, 2018: The Committee has drafted a new instruction for the crime of stalking, reflecting the 2015 statutory amendments. The Committee has also revised the Reporter’s Notes accompanying the stalking instructions. The new instruction and revised Reporter’s Notes are available here.

July 17, 2018: The Committee has drafted instructions for the crime of human trafficking. Those instructions are available here.

July 13, 2018: The Committee has revised the Reporter’s Note for Causation.

July 11, 2018: The Committee has posted a new instruction for the crime of Sexual Exploitation of an Inmate. That instruction is available here.

July 5, 2018: The Committee has added a new instruction on juror prohibitions, including juror use of electronic devices, upon separation following voir dire and before the start of trial. That instruction is available here.