Before the jury begins deliberating the hush money charges against Donald Trump brought by Manhattan prosecutors, Judge Juan Merchan will instruct jurors about what they can and cannot consider when weighing the former president’s potential guilt.
These instructions are part of every jury trial but are tailored to each specific case. They are the most significant legal guidance juries will get before their deliberations.
How exactly the instructions are formulated is a closely scrutinized part of a trial and sometimes a point of contention before the two sides. Jury instructions can also be a grounds for an appeal if the defendant is convicted.
The instructions are aimed at helping a jury understand the specific laws that they are considering in the case, while defining in layman’s terms certain legal terms that are relevant to their deliberations.
They are written by the judge, and there is model language that judges can consider in crafting the instructions. But sometimes judges will ask for both parties to weigh in. In the Trump case, the lawyers were given the jury instructions last Thursday, but they will not be released publicly until Merchan reads them in the courtroom on Tuesday.
