TennesseeJury Nullification
Tennessee's pattern instruction tells jurors they are the exclusive judges of the facts, and the exclusive judges of the law under the direction of the court. The state constitution says that in libel cases the jury shall have a right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court. A court rule says the jury's verdict shall be unanimous.
Overview
Juries in Tennessee
Tennessee has a pattern instruction titled for the judges of facts and law. It tells jurors they are the exclusive judges of the facts, and the exclusive judges of the law under the direction of the court. A printed comment says the instruction must be given in each case.
The Tennessee constitution uses similar words in its section on the press. In all indictments for libel, the jury shall have a right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other criminal cases. What the chapter says about the two texts, and what it leaves alone, is in the Tennessee chapter of the guide.
A court rule says the jury's verdict shall be unanimous. Another rule says that in a felony trial every word of the judge's instructions has to be written down. What happens to that written charge is in the chapter.
The Tennessee chapter
What's in the Guide for Tennessee?
Jury selection
How a Tennessee judge settles the instructions with the lawyers, when the lawyers' requests are due, and what a jury is told before the evidence starts.
What the judge tells you
What the Tennessee instruction on the judges of facts and law says in full, what the opening instruction says about the judge's part, and who writes the pattern instructions.
How the verdict works
What the unanimous verdict rule asks of a Tennessee jury, what the verdict instruction says about each juror's own judgment, and what a judge may do when a jury is stuck.
Protections and risks
What Tennessee's instructions say about reaching agreement without giving up your own judgment, and what stays with the jury in the jury room.
The law in plain English
The Tennessee laws behind the chapter in everyday words. They include the court rules on the verdict and on instructing the jury, and the sections of the constitution on the press and libel, on trial by jury, and on who may serve as a juror.
Official state resources
Links to Tennessee's official sources, each one checked. They cover the code and constitution the General Assembly designates, the state courts' rules of criminal procedure, and the pattern jury instructions.
Your summons
Called for Jury Duty in Tennessee?
A Tennessee jury summons asks you to come to court and, if you are picked, to judge the facts of a case.
In Tennessee jury service is run by the courts in each county. The court that sent your summons handles reporting and requests to be excused.
The county court covers the practical side. What the instruction on facts and law says, what the constitution says about libel cases, and how a written charge goes with the jury are covered in the Tennessee chapter of the guide.
Your Tennessee summons
- Sent byThe court that sent your summons
- It asks you toCome to court and, if you are picked, judge the facts of a case
- Jury size12