WisconsinJury Nullification
Wisconsin's constitution says that in criminal libel cases the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact. The pattern instruction tells jurors to base the verdict on the law the judge gives, and ends by saying the jury are the sole judges of the facts and the court is the judge of the law only. The instructions say all 12 jurors must agree.
Overview
Juries in Wisconsin
Wisconsin's pattern instruction closes with one sentence. You, the jury, are the sole judges of the facts, and the court is the judge of the law only. Before that, it tells jurors to base the verdict on the law the judge gives, regardless of any opinion about what the law is or ought to be.
The Wisconsin constitution speaks to the jury and the law in its section on free speech. In all criminal prosecutions or indictments for libel, the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact. What that section covers is in the Wisconsin chapter of the guide.
Wisconsin's instruction on the verdict starts by telling jurors that this is a criminal case and not a civil one. It says all 12 jurors must agree. Why it starts there, and what the state constitution allows in civil cases, is in the chapter.
The Wisconsin chapter
What's in the Guide for Wisconsin?
Jury selection
What Wisconsin law says a judge has to ask every possible juror under oath, the four things the questions cover, and the test for excusing a person who is not indifferent.
What the judge tells you
What the Wisconsin pattern instructions say about the law, the facts and a juror's own opinion, what they say about the consequences of a verdict, and when in the trial they can be read.
How the verdict works
What it means that all 12 Wisconsin jurors must agree, how the instruction separates a criminal verdict from a civil one, and what written instructions go to the jury room.
Protections and risks
What Wisconsin law says about contacting a juror to influence a case, what happens to the notes a juror takes, and why everything a judge says to a jury goes on the record.
The law in plain English
The Wisconsin laws behind the chapter in everyday words. They include the statutes that bring the civil rules on juries into criminal trials, the statutes on jury trial, on the order of trial, on questioning jurors and on the judge's charge, the law on communicating with jurors, and three sections of the state constitution.
Official state resources
Links to Wisconsin's official sources, each one checked. They cover the statutes and constitution on the legislature's site, the criminal jury instructions hosted free by the Wisconsin State Law Library, and the Wisconsin Court System's pages for jurors.
Your summons
Called for Jury Duty in Wisconsin?
A Wisconsin jury summons asks you to come to court and, if you are picked, to be one of the sole judges of the facts in a case. The court is the judge of the law.
The Wisconsin Court System publishes a handbook for jurors and has a page for them. They cover reporting, who can serve, and what to expect on the day.
Those cover serving. What you will be asked under oath, what the pattern instructions say about the law and the facts, and what happens to your notes are covered in the Wisconsin chapter of the guide.
Your Wisconsin summons
- Sent byThe clerk of circuit court
- It asks you toCome to court and, if you are picked, be one of the sole judges of the facts in a case
- Jury size12; fewer if both parties agree