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WPI 6.06 Exhibit Admitted for Illustrative Purposes

6 WAPRAC WPI 6.06Washington Practice Series TMWashington Pattern Jury Instructions--Civil

6 Wash. Prac., Wash. Pattern Jury Instr. Civ. WPI 6.06 (7th ed.)
Washington Practice Series TM
Washington Pattern Jury Instructions--Civil
April 2022 Update
Washington State Supreme Court Committee on Jury Instructions
Part I. General Instructions
Chapter 6. Oral Instructions During Trial
WPI 6.06 Exhibit Admitted for Illustrative Purposes
I am allowing [this exhibit] [exhibit number ] to be used for illustrative purposes only. This means that its status is different from that of other exhibits in the case. This exhibit is not itself evidence. Rather, it is one [party's] [witness's] [summary] [explanation] [illustration] [interpretation], offered to assist you in understanding and evaluating the evidence in the case. Keep in mind that actual evidence is the testimony of witnesses and the exhibits that are admitted into evidence.
[Because it is not itself evidence, this exhibit will not go with you to the jury room when you deliberate. The lawyers and witnesses may use the exhibit now and later on during this trial. You may take notes regarding this exhibit if you wish, but you should remember that your decisions in the case must be based upon the actual evidence.]
NOTE ON USE
Use this oral instruction when admitting an exhibit for illustrative purposes only.
Select from the bracketed descriptions of the illustrative exhibit as appropriate, or substitute a more applicable description. The instruction will need to be modified for cases in which more than one exhibit is admitted for illustrative purposes.
If the parties later stipulate that the exhibit may go to the jury room, then the judge at that time should explain this circumstance for the jurors to avoid juror confusion.
COMMENT
Exhibits that tend to be admitted for only illustrative purposes include models, informal drawings of a crime scene, diagrams, and charts or outlines summarizing the evidence in a case. A common example is an expert's diagram drawn during the trial. See Tegland, 5 Washington Practice, Evidence Law and Practice § 402.41 (6th ed.).
Illustrative exhibits are “appropriate to aid the trier of fact in understanding other evidence, where the trier of fact is aware of the limits on the accuracy of the evidence.” State v. Lord, 117 Wn.2d 829, 855, 822 P.2d 177 (1991). A chart summarizing evidence may be admitted for illustrative purposes if it represents “a substantially accurate summary of evidence properly admitted. The jury is then free to judge the worth and weight of the evidence summarized in the chart.” Lord, 117 Wn.2d at 855–56.
When admitting an exhibit for illustrative purposes only, the judge needs to instruct the jurors as to the meaning of the term “illustrative exhibit.” Further, jurors need to be instructed that an illustrative exhibit, unlike other exhibits, is not evidence and will not be available to them in the jury room. Lord, 117 Wn.2d at 856.
[Current as of November 2020.]
End of Document