West Virginia Homicide Jury Instructions Project Professor James R. Elkins & Students at the West Virginia University College of Law [Spring][2006]

 

 

 

Assignments Archive

January 9, 2006

Briefing on the nature and purpose of the course (what you are expected to do and what you might learn along the way)

Some preliminary observations about criminal law (in West Virginia) and the problems raised for establishing model jury instructions

Revising California's Jury Instructions for Criminal Cases

San Francisco Chronicle news account

Judicial Council of California News Release

The Language of Jury Instructions
Professor Peter Tiersma, Loyola-LA, School of Law

Union-Tribune news account

Revising Jury Instructions (California)

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Continue Discussion about the Work You'll be Doing in the Course

Review of the List of Jury Instructions (Presented on the Syllabus) from Which You Can Select Jury Instructions to Work On

Compare West Virginia Jury Instructions (and "comments") with the comparable Oklahoma Jury Instruction.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Martin Luther King's Birthday. Holiday. No Class

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Deadline for formation of "Work Groups"

Continue Discussion of West Virginia Homicide Law and Present West Virginia Jury Instructions

Monday, January 23, 2006

Deadline for determination of the Jury Instructions you, or your group will work on.

Peter Tiersma, Communicating with Juries [xerox handed out in class ] [on-line text; earlier version]

[Postpone] Revising Jury Instructions [Onhold]

Excerpts from: Amiram Elwork, Bruce D. Sales & James J. Alfini, Making Jury Instructions Understandable (Charlottesville, Virginia: Michie Company, 1982) [xerox; to be handed out in class]

Plain-English Jury Instructions
American Judicature Society

The Call for Simple Jury Instructions

Linguistics and the Law

Wednesday. January 23, 2009. No Class

I have today posted a draft/tentative version of the Research/Revision Protocol. We may want to modify or expend this in the days ahead.

Research/Jury Instruction Revision Protocol

Monday. January 30, 2006. Discussion of the Research/Revision Protocol

Monday. February 27, 2006

Premeditation & Deliberation: Rebecca Pettit

Monday, March 6. 2006 -- Presentations

Malice: George Sidiropolis | Bill Flanigan | Harry P. Montor | Matthew Campbell |

Wednesday, March 8. 2006 -- Presentations

Intent to Kill: Brandy Garcia | Ryan Gum | Jarrell Clifton | Julie Jaquay

Monday, March 20. 2006

2nd Degree Murder: Jessica Haun | Nic James

Monday, March 27. 2006

Involuntary Manslaughter: Shannon Smith

Wednesday, March 29. 2006

Provocation: Stephanie Concodora

Voluntary Manslaughter: Kevin Cimino | Katy Ratai

Malignant/Depraved Heart Killings: Cimino | Ratai

Monday, April 3. 2006

Self-Defense: Jessica Haun | Nic James

Wednesday, April 5, 2006 [Double Session]

Self-Defense & Duty to Retreat: Garcia | Gum | Clifton | Jaquay

Self-Defense & Battered Woman Syndrome:
Sydow | Foreman | Adams

Monday, April 10, 2006

Diminished Capacity: Sidiropolis | Flanigan | Montor | Campbell

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Noon Meeting 12-1:00 P.M.: Discuss revision & publication of the revised jury instructions

Regular Class Meeting at 1 P. M. [Voluntary Intoxication]

Voluntary Intoxication || Sidiropolis | Flanigan | Montor | Campbell

Voluntary Intoxication: Ratai | Cimino

Monday, April 17, 2006

Insanity Defense: Nora Sydow | Corinna Foreman | Erin Adams

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