WPIC 4.76 Stipulation as to Admission of Evidence

Use this oral instruction when the parties stipulate that particular evidence may be presented to the jury, if the instruction will serve to reduce juror confusion. See discussion in the Comment.

Use WPIC 4.77 (Stipulation as to Truth of Facts) instead of this instruction if the parties' agreement conclusively establishes the truth of the evidence.

This instruction will not always be needed. In many cases, jurors will not need to be instructed that the parties have agreed to the evidence's admissibility or to be otherwise specially instructed as to their proper use of that evidence. The only time when the instruction is necessary is when the circumstances of a particular trial could leave jurors confused about the admitted evidence or their role in evaluating it. For example, if jurors hear in the courtroom that the parties have stipulated to an exhibit's admissibility, the instruction could be used to inform jurors that the agreement goes to the exhibit's admissibility and not to the accuracy of its contents. In any event, if the judge reads to the jury a stipulation as to admissibility, then jurors will need to be instructed that they are to evaluate the evidence in the same manner as for other evidence.

This instruction is limited to agreements about admissibility; it is not designed to cover any stipulation that conclusively establishes the truth of the evidence. Such a stipulation removes a factual issue from the jury's consideration and does not involve evidence for the jury to evaluate. For example, this instruction should not be used if the parties stipulate that defendant has a prior felony as this agreement would conclusively establish an issue for the jury. See WPIC 4.77 (Stipulation as to Undisputed Facts or Elements of Offense). In criminal cases, a common scenario for using WPIC 4.76 will be when one party is stipulating to the admission of documentary evidence, such as medical records, without requiring a custodian of records to testify. For a detailed discussion of the issues involved in determining whether a stipulation or admission conclusively establishes the truth of particular evidence, see generally Tegland, 5B Washington Practice, Evidence Law and Practice, sections 801.52 to 801.55 (6th ed.).

The stipulation would not ordinarily go to the jury room unless it is admitted as an exhibit. See CrR 6.15(e) (exhibits admitted into evidence go to the jury room during deliberations).

The instruction parallels WPI 6.10.01 (Stipulations), which has long been included in the civil pattern jury instructions.