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Revised to January 1, 2008
You may, if you wish, take notes
during the course of the trial. <Have the clerk or marshal distribute
note pads and pencils.>
Some jurors find that taking notes
is helpful in keeping track of the proceedings and some do not. You should
remember that your main job as jurors is to listen to and observe the
witnesses. If taking notes would distract you from that job, then don't
take notes. There is no need to try to take down the testimony word for
word. If, during your deliberations at the end of the case, you need to
hear what a witness said, we have an official tape-recording or court
stenographer's record that will give you an accurate record of all the
testimony.
You should not allow note-taking
to interfere with your attention to the testimony or your task of sizing up
the witnesses as they testify, but you may take notes if doing so would aid
your memory.
You should not make any notes
outside of court and bring them here. Your notebooks will be collected at
the end of each break and kept secure by the clerk. No one will look at
them.
I take notes because I may be
asked to rule on issues during the course of the evidence. Your decision
whether to take notes at any point should not be influenced by my
note-taking.
You should not disclose your notes
to anybody during the trial. It will be up to you whether to disclose them
to your fellow jurors during deliberations at the end of the trial.
Authority
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