SJC announces revised Model Jury Instructions on Homicide

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The Supreme Judicial Court has announced the release of revised Model Jury Instructions on Homicide.

The SJC first approved and recommended the use of the instructions in 1999, with subsequent revisions released in 2013 and 2018. A version of the instructions that incorporated changes from Commonwealth v. Castillo, 485 Mass. 852 (2020), and Commonwealth v. Dunphe, 485 Mass. 871 (2020) was released in 2021.

The court recommends that judges provide jurors with a written copy of the judge’s final instructions, if available, or with an audio recording, or both. A chalk entitled Requirements of Proof for Homicide is included as an appendix to the Model Jury Instructions. The SJC says the judge may wish to provide the chalk to jurors to use as an outline to the judge’s final instructions.

SJC Justice Frank M. Gaziano chaired the Standing Committee on the Model Jury Instructions on Homicide, which was charged with updating the instructions.

The Model Jury Instructions, Chalk, Statement of the Justices, and List of Principal Revisions are available on the court’s website.

Comments on these Model Jury Instructions may be sent to timothy.maguire@jud.state.ma.us, and will be considered in future revisions.