Criminal Defense
Preparation

The Relationship Between
Pre-Trial Motions and Jury Instructions

Criminal Jury Instructions Drafted by the Defense

Charges against a defendant are dismissed not because the defense lawyer knows the judge or plays golf with the prosecutor, but because the lawyer has crafted pretrial motions and supporting briefs which compel the judge to dismiss the charges or risk reversal on appeal.

Similarly, when charges are submitted to a jury, the judge advises the jury that it must follow the instructions on the law given by the court. The court usually gives pattern instructions which in large measure were drafted by prosecutors and former prosecutors.

A defense lawyer must draft his own jury instructions. The pattern instructions are for a pattern prosecution, but no two prosecutions are the same and the pattern instructions rarely present the law on which the defendant must rely.