WPIC 300.03 Aggravating Circumstance Procedure—Advance Oral Instruction for Stand-Alone Sentenc...
11A WAPRAC WPIC 300.03Washington Practice Series TMWashington Pattern Jury Instructions--Criminal
11A Wash. Prac., Pattern Jury Instr. Crim. WPIC 300.03 (5th Ed)
Washington Practice Series TM
Washington Pattern Jury Instructions--Criminal
January 2024 Update
Part XVI. Exceptional Sentences—Aggravating Circumstances
WPIC CHAPTER 300. Exceptional Sentences—Aggravating Circumstances
WPIC 300.03 Aggravating Circumstance Procedure—Advance Oral Instruction for Stand-Alone Sentencing Proceeding
Part 1—Before Voir Dire of Prospective Jurors:
This is a criminal case brought by the State [against the defendant, (name of defendant)]. The prosecuting attorney is (name). The defense attorney is (name).
The defendant has been found guilty of (insert name of crime) [in a prior proceeding] [by a plea of guilty]. This means that the State has established beyond a reasonable doubt that (insert elements from the information or guilt phase jury instructions). (Repeat for each count.)[This] [These] finding[s] of guilt [is] [are] binding upon you.
The prosecuting attorney has alleged the existence of certain additional facts related to [[this] [these] offense[s]] [and] [or] [this defendant]. Specifically, the prosecuting attorney alleges that (insert aggravating circumstances alleged in the notice required by RCW 9.94A.537(1)).
Keep in mind that [this allegation is] [these allegations are] not evidence that the additional facts exist. Your decisions as jurors must be made solely upon the evidence presented during these proceedings.
To [these] [this] additional allegation[s], the defendant has entered a denial. This denial means that you, the jury, must decide whether the State has proved the additional allegation[s] beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant has no burden of proving that a reasonable doubt exists. The defendant has no duty to call witnesses, produce evidence, or testify.
The defendant is presumed to be innocent of the additional allegation[s]. The presumption of innocence continues throughout the entire trial. The presumption means that you may not find the existence of the additional allegation[s] unless you conclude at the end of your deliberations that the evidence has established the existence of the additional allegation[s] beyond a reasonable doubt.
A reasonable doubt is one for which a reason exists. It may arise from the evidence or lack of evidence. A reasonable doubt is a doubt that would exist in the mind of a reasonable person after fully, fairly, and carefully considering all of the evidence or lack of evidence. [If, from such consideration, you have an abiding belief in the truth of the allegation, you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt.]
The first stage of the trial is jury selection, which is sometimes called voir dire.
The purpose of this process is to make sure that we select a jury that is free from any outside or pre-existing bias that might interfere with the jury's ability to fairly decide the case based on the evidence and the law that you receive in this courtroom.
It is important that you discharge your duties without discrimination, meaning that bias regarding the race, color, religious beliefs, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or disability of any party, any witnesses, and the lawyers should play no part in the exercise of your judgment throughout the trial. These are called “conscious biases”—and, when answering questions, it is important, even if uncomfortable for you, to share these views with the lawyers.
However, there is another more subtle tendency at work that we must all be aware of. This part of human nature is understandable but must play no role in your service as jurors. In our daily lives, there are many issues that require us to make quick decisions and then move on. In making these daily decisions, we may well rely upon generalities, even what might be called biases or prejudices. That may be appropriate as a coping mechanism in our busy daily lives but bias and prejudice can play no part in any decisions you might make as a juror. Your decisions as jurors must be based solely upon an open-minded, fair consideration of the evidence that comes before you during trial.
In a moment, I am going to ask you some background questions and the lawyers will also have a chance to follow up with some questions of their own. Most importantly, you are to look within yourselves and see if there is anything there in your life experiences or your personal beliefs that might be such a strong influence that it would overcome your ability to serve as a fair and impartial juror. These questions may sometimes involve issues that are sensitive for you. If you are uncomfortable answering any particular question in front of the other jurors, please let me know or notify the [bailiff] [ (insert other applicable staff person)]. We may then discuss other ways to handle this question.
At the conclusion of the trial, I will instruct you on the law in what are called "jury instructions". These instructions are binding on you regardless of what you personally believe the law is or ought to be. During deliberations, the job of the jury will be to apply the law to the facts you find have been proven to determine whether the State has overcome the presumption of innocence and proved the allegation(s) against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt.
The purpose of jury selection is to determine if you have the open frame of mind that is needed to fairly serve as a juror.
Before any questions are asked, an oath or affirmation will be administered. All of your answers must be open, honest, and forthright. At this time, I ask that you please rise, raise your right hand, and [I] [the clerk] will administer this oath.
Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will truthfully answer questions as may be asked of you by the court or the attorneys concerning your qualifications to act as jurors in this case? [Please respond])
(The judge then explains for jurors how voir dire will be conducted, including the number of peremptory challenges, and voir dire begins.)
Part 2- Following Voir Dire:
(The jurors are given an oath or affirmation for purposes of the trial:
Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will fairly try the issues in this case according to the evidence and the instructions from the court [Please respond])
I will now explain the procedure to be followed during the trial.
First: the prosecuting attorney may make an opening statement outlining the testimony of witnesses or other evidence that [he] [she] expects to be presented during the trial. The defense attorney may then make an opening statement or may choose to make an opening statement later.
Next: The prosecuting attorney will present the testimony of witnesses or other evidence to you. When the prosecuting attorney has finished, the defense attorney may, but need not, present the testimony of witnesses or other evidence. Each witness who testifies may be cross-examined by the lawyer for the other side.
Next: When all of the evidence has been presented to you, I will instruct you on what law applies to this case. I will read the instructions to you. You will have [individual copies of] the written instructions with you in the jury room during your deliberations.
Next: The lawyers will make closing arguments.
Finally: You will be taken to the jury room by the [bailiff] [(insert other applicable staff person)] where you will select a presiding juror. The presiding juror will preside over your discussions of the case, which are called deliberations. You will then deliberate in order to reach a decision, which is called a verdict. Until you are in the jury room for those deliberations, you must not discuss the case with the other jurors or with anyone else, or remain within hearing of anyone discussing it. “No discussion” also means no emailing, text messaging, blogging, or any other form of electronic communications.
It is your duty as a jury to decide the facts in this case based upon the evidence presented to you during the trial. Evidence is a legal term. Evidence includes testimony of witnesses, documents, and physical objects.
It also is your duty to accept the law from my instructions, regardless of what you personally believe the law is or what you think it ought to be. You are to apply the law from my instructions to the facts, and in this way decide the case.
The only evidence you are to consider consists of testimony of witnesses and exhibits admitted into evidence. When witnesses testify, please listen very carefully. You will need to remember testimony during your deliberations because testimony will rarely, if ever, be repeated for you. Any exhibits admitted into evidence will go to the jury room with you during your deliberations.
The lawyers' remarks, statements, and arguments are intended to help you understand the evidence and apply the law. However, the lawyers' statements are not evidence or the law. The evidence is the testimony and the exhibits. The law is contained in my instructions to you. You must disregard anything the lawyers say that is at odds with the evidence or the law in my instructions.
You may hear objections made by the lawyers during trial. Each party has the right to object to questions asked by another lawyer, and may have a duty to do so. These objections should not influence you. Do not make any assumptions or draw any conclusions based on a lawyer's objections.
One of my duties as judge is to decide whether or not evidence should be admitted during this trial. What this means is that I must decide whether or not you should consider evidence offered by the parties. For example, if a party offers a photograph as an exhibit, I will decide whether it is admissible. Do not be concerned about the reasons for my rulings. You must not consider or discuss any evidence that I do not admit or that I tell you to disregard.
Our state constitution prohibits a trial judge from making a comment on the evidence. Because it is your role to evaluate the evidence, it would be improper for me to express, by words or conduct, my personal opinion about the value of a particular witness's testimony or an exhibit. I will not intentionally do this. If it appears to you that I have indicated in any way my personal opinion concerning any evidence, you must disregard this entirely.
[In this courtroom we record all proceedings with a special [video] [audio] recording system. All of the proceedings are preserved to create a “court record.”]
[At this time, I would like to introduce you to the court reporter, [Mr.] [Ms.] , who will record everything that is said or done in this courtroom during this trial. [He] [She] is responsible for recording these proceedings accurately. What [he] [she] transcribes is referred to as the “record.”]
I would [also] like to introduce you to the court clerk, [Mr.] [Ms.] , and the bailiff, [Mr.] [Ms.] . The job of the court clerk is to keep track of all documents and exhibits and to make a record of rulings made during the trial. The bailiff keeps the trial running smoothly. You will be in the care of the bailiff throughout this trial. [Mr.] [Ms.] will help you with any problems you may have related to jury service. Do not, however, ask [him] [her] anything about the facts or law in this case. Please follow any instructions that [he] [she] gives you.
You will be allowed to take notes during the trial. Whether or not you do so is entirely your own decision. If you do choose to take notes, you should make sure that it does not interfere with your ability to listen to and observe the witnesses.
At an appropriate time, the [bailiff] [ (insert other applicable staff person)] will provide a note pad and a pen or pencil to each of you. Your juror number will be on the front page of the note pad. You must take notes on this pad only, not on any other paper. You must not take your note pad from the courtroom or the jury room for any reason. When you recess during the trial, please (insert appropriate direction; see Note on Use). At the end of the day, the note pads must be left (insert appropriate direction; see Note on Use). While you are away from the courtroom or the jury room, no one will read your notes.
You must not discuss your notes with anyone or show your notes to anyone until you begin deliberating on your verdict. This includes other jurors. During deliberation, you may discuss your notes with the other jurors or show your notes to them.
You are not to assume that your notes are necessarily more accurate than your memory. I am allowing you to take notes to assist you in remembering clearly, not to substitute for your memory. You are also not to assume that your notes are more accurate than the memories or notes of the other jurors.
After you have reached a verdict, your notes will be collected and destroyed by the [bailiff] [(insert other applicable staff person)]. No one will be allowed to read them.
Throughout this trial, you must come and go directly from the jury room. Do not remain in the hall or courtroom, as witnesses and parties may not recognize you as a juror, and you may accidentally overhear some discussion about this case. I have instructed the lawyers, parties, and witnesses not to talk to you during trial.
It is essential to a fair trial that everything you learn about this case comes to you in this courtroom, and only in this courtroom. You must not allow yourself to be exposed to any outside information about this case, including from your family and friends. Do not permit anyone to discuss or comment about it in your presence. You must keep your mind free of outside influences so that your decision will be based entirely on the evidence presented during the trial and on my instructions to you about the law.
Until you are dismissed at the end of this trial, you must avoid outside sources such as newspapers, magazines, blogs, the internet, or radio or television broadcasts which may discuss this case or issues involved in this trial. If you start to hear or read information about anything related to the case, you must act immediately so that you no longer hear or see it. If you become aware that you or another juror has been exposed to outside information, you must privately notify [the bailiff] [(insert other applicable staff person)]; do not discuss these matters with other jurors.
By giving this instruction, I do not mean to suggest that this particular case is newsworthy; I give this instruction in every case.
During the trial, do not try to determine on your own what the law is. Do not seek out any evidence on your own. Do not consult dictionaries or other reference materials. Do not conduct any research into the facts, the issues, or the people involved in this case. This means you may not use [Google or other internet search engines] [internet resources] to look into anything at all related to this case. Do not inspect the scene of any event involved in this case. If your ordinary travel will result in passing or seeing the location of any event involved in this case, do not stop or try to investigate. You must keep your mind clear of anything that is not presented to you in this courtroom.
During the trial, do not provide information about the case to other people, including any of the lawyers, parties, witnesses, your friends, members of your family, or members of the media. If necessary, you may tell people (such as your employer or your child's daycare provider) that you are a juror and let them know when you need to be in court. If people ask you for more details, you should tell them that you are not allowed to talk about the case until it is over.
I want to emphasize that the rules prohibiting discussions include your electronic communications. You must not send or receive information about anything related to the case by any means, including by text messages, email, telephone, internet chat, blogs, or social networking web sites. Do not even mention being on a jury when using social media, such as updating your status on Facebook or sending a message on Twitter. You don't want to do anything that will invite others to talk to you about your jury duty.
In short, do not communicate with anyone, by any means, concerning what you see or hear in the courtroom, and do not try to find out more about anything related to this case, by any means, other than what you learn in the courtroom. These rules ensure that the parties will receive a fair trial. If you have any questions about these restrictions, please contact [the bailiff] [(insert other applicable staff person)].
If you become exposed to any information other than what you learn in the courtroom, it could be grounds for a mistrial. A mistrial would mean that all of the work that you and your fellow jurors put into this trial will be wasted. Re-trials are costly and burdensome to the parties and the public. Also, if you communicate with others in violation of my orders, you could be fined or held in contempt of court.
After you have delivered your verdict, you will be free to do any research you choose and to share your experiences with others.
[Remember that all phones, laptops, and other electronic devices must be turned off and may not be used while you are in court and while you are in deliberations.]
Throughout the trial, you must maintain an open mind. You must not form any firm and fixed opinion about any issue in the case until the entire case has been submitted to you for deliberation.
As jurors, you are officers of this court. As such, you must not let your emotions overcome your rational thought process. You must reach your decision based on the facts proved to you and on the law given to you, not on sympathy, prejudice, or personal preference. To assure that all parties receive a fair trial, you must act impartially with an earnest desire to reach a just and proper verdict.
To accomplish a fair trial takes work, commitment, and cooperation. A fair trial is possible only with a serious and continuous effort by each one of us.
Thank you for your willingness to serve this court and our system of justice.
NOTE ON USE
This is not one of the written instructions on the law. Part 1 of this instruction is to be read to the jury panel before the jury is selected in a case in which guilt has already been determined and the only remaining issue is the existence of aggravating circumstances. Part 2 is to be read after the jury has been selected. The jurors will already have received a Jurors' Information Guide which contains some of the same information. This guide is available at www.courts.wa.gov.
The instruction sets forth the basic information that jurors need to know before and after voir dire. Many judges will want to adapt the instruction to fit their own procedures and needs.
Except when the novelty or complexity of the charges make it difficult to do so, the judge should state the elements of the charged crime or crimes with as much specificity as possible. It may be appropriate in describing the crimes for which the defendant has been convicted in the second paragraph to give the name of the victim and the time and place in order to provide background for voir dire questioning as to prior knowledge of the incident. Lawyers may want to ask the court for a conference prior to the use of this instruction if they object to any part of it.
This instruction contains a paragraph defining reasonable doubt. Within that paragraph, the bracketed sentence should be used if it will be included in the final written instructions to the jury. See related discussion in the Comment to WPIC 4.01 (Burden of Proof—Presumption of Innocence—Reasonable Doubt).
Juror notepads may be distributed either before or after opening statements. If notepads are distributed before opening statements, the judge should advise jurors to carefully distinguish in their notes between argument of counsel and evidence. The paragraphs addressing juror note-taking include two blank spaces. In the first, insert an appropriate instruction to jurors regarding where to leave their notes during court recesses, such as “leave your notepad on your chair” or “take your note pad with you to the jury room.” In the second, insert an appropriate instruction regarding where jurors are to leave their note pads at the end of the day, such as “in the jury room” or “on your chair.”
COMMENT
This instruction closely parallels WPIC 1.01 (Advance Oral Instruction—Beginning of Proceedings), but has been altered in recognition that it is intended to be used only when a jury is being convened solely to decide whether one or more aggravating circumstance exists. The need for this instruction may arise when a juror who served on the trial of the underlying conviction is unable to continue and no alternate jurors are available. This instruction may also be required when a defendant enters a guilty plea solely with respect to the underlying crime, or an appellate court affirms the conviction on the underlying crime and remands the matter for a new trial on the aggravating circumstances. See generally RCW 9.94A.537(2) and (6).
This instruction, and the sentencing-only procedure, should be used with caution. The Legislature, in 2005, enacted a statute that authorizes a jury to consider aggravating circumstances “during the trial of the alleged crime” or in a separate proceeding for certain listed aggravating circumstances when the separate proceeding, if possible, “immediately follow[s] the trial on the underlying conviction.” RCW 9.94A.537(4), (5). The Legislature in 2007 enacted a statute that expressly authorizes a stand-alone proceeding when an appellate court vacates and remands an exceptional sentence determination. See RCW 9.94A.537(2). The Legislature, however, has not yet enacted a statute that expressly authorizes the convening of a jury to decide the existence of an aggravating circumstance when a defendant pleads guilty to the underlying offense.
[Current as of June 2020.]
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