Case Reading Topic 6: Bring Your Knowledge With You

I was lucky enough to work in the federal trial court for a collective fifteen years. During that time, and in private practice, I saw countless jury trials. Whether civil or criminal, the trials always had one thing in common: the judge instructed the jury to exercise their common sense in deliberations. For example, the jury instruction about weighing the evidence would sound something like this: “Don’t leave your common sense at the courthouse door. It is up to you to decide what evidence is reliable. You should use your common sense in deciding which evidence is the best evidence and which evidence should not be relied upon in reaching your verdict.”