Members of the jury, you have heard the parties argue the case and you have heard the evidence. It is now my duty to instruct you as to the law. The instructions that I gave you at the beginning of the trial and during the trial remain in effect. You must, of course, continue to follow my earlier instructions as well as those that I give you now. You must not single out some instructions and ignore others, but must consider the instructions as a whole.

Neither in these instructions nor in any ruling, action or remark that I have made during the course of this trial have I intended to give any opinion or suggestion as to what your verdict should be. During this trial, I may have occasionally asked questions of witnesses in order to bring out facts not then fully covered in testimony. Do not assume that I hold any opinion on the matter to which my questions related.

It is your duty to determine from the evidence what the facts are. You will then apply the law, as I give it to you, to those facts. You must follow my instructions on the law, even if you believed that the law was different or should be different.

Do not allow sympathy or prejudice to influence you. The law demands of you a just verdict, unaffected by anything except the evidence, your common sense, and the law as I give it to you.

I have mentioned the word "evidence." The "evidence" in this case consists of the testimony of witnesses, the documents and other things received as exhibits and the facts that have been stipulated -- that is formally agreed to by the parties.

You may use reason and common sense to draw deductions or conclusions from facts that have been established by the evidence in the case.

During the trial items were received into evidence as exhibits. Any or all of these exhibits will be sent into the jury room if you request. Examine the exhibits if you think it would help you in your deliberations.

Certain things are not evidence. I shall list those things for you now:

First: Statements, arguments, questions and comments by lawyers representing the parties in the case do not constitute evidence.

Second: Objections are not evidence. Lawyers have a right to object if they believe something is improper. You should not be influenced by an objection. If I sustained an objection to a question, you must ignore the question and must not attempt to guess what the answer might have been.

Third: Testimony that I struck from the record, or told you to disregard, is not evidence and must not be considered.

Fourth: Anything you saw or heard about this case outside of the courtroom is not evidence.

Finally, during the course of this trial you may have been instructed that some evidence was received for a limited purpose only. You may consider such evidence only for the specific limited purpose for which it was admitted.

Evidence may be direct or circumstantial. Direct evidence is testimony by a witness about a matter that the witness personally saw, heard or did. Circumstantial evidence is indirect evidence, that is, it is proof of one or more facts from which one can find another fact. You are to consider both direct and circumstantial evidence. The law permits you to give equal weight to both, but it is for you to decide how much weight to give any evidence.

You are to consider only the evidence in the case. But in your consideration of the evidence you are not limited solely to what you have seen and heard the witnesses testify. You are permitted to draw, from the facts which you find have been proved, such reasonable inferences as seem justified in the light of your experience.

Inferences are deductions or conclusions which reason and common sense lead the jury to draw from the facts which have been established by the evidence in the trial.

In deciding what the facts are, you also may have to decide what testimony you believe and what testimony you do not believe. You may believe all of what a witness said, only part of it, or none of it.

In weighing the testimony of a witness, you should consider his or her relationship to the parties. You must also consider his or her interest, if any, in the outcome of the case, his or her manner of testifying, his or her opportunity to observe or acquire knowledge concerning the facts about which he or she testified, the candor, fairness, and intelligence of a witness and the extent to which a witness' testimony is supported or contradicted by other credible evidence. You may, in short, accept or reject the testimony of any witness in whole or in part.

This case should be considered by you as an action between persons of equal worth. All persons are equal before the law and are considered equals in the courtroom today.

In weighing a witness's testimony, you also should ask yourself whether there was evidence tending to prove that the witness testified falsely concerning some important fact; or whether there was evidence that at some other time the witness said or did something, or failed to say or do something, which was different from the testimony he or she gave before you during the trial.

You should again keep in mind, of course, that a simple mistake by a witness does not necessarily mean that the witness was not telling the truth as he or she remembers it, because people naturally tend to forget some things or remember other things inaccurately. So, if a witness has made a misstatement, you need to consider whether that misstatement was simply an innocent lapse or an intentional falsehood; and the significance of that may depend on whether it has to do with an important fact or only a small detail.

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In conducting your deliberations and returning your verdict, there are certain rules you must follow. I shall list those rules for you now.

First, when you go to the jury room, you must select one of your members as your foreperson. That person will preside over your discussions and speak for you here in court.

Second, it is your duty, as jurors, to discuss this case with one another in the jury room. You should try to reach agreement without violence to individual judgment, because a verdict must be unanimous.

Each of you must make your own conscientious decision, but only after you have considered all the evidence, discussed it fully with fellow jurors, and listened to the views of your fellow jurors.

Do not be afraid to change your opinions if the discussion persuades you that you should. But do not come to a decision simply because other jurors think it is right, or simply to reach a verdict.

Third, if you need to communicate with me during your deliberations, you may send a note to me through the bailiff, signed by one or more jurors. I will respond as soon as possible either in writing or by having you returned to the court room so that I can address you orally. Remember that you should not tell anyone -- including me -- how your vote stands numerically.

Fourth, your verdict must be based solely on the evidence and on the law which I have given you in my instructions. The verdict must be unanimous. Nothing I have said or done is intended to suggest what your verdict should be -- that is entirely for you to decide.

Finally, a verdict form is simply written notice of a decision that you reach in this case. You will take this form to the jury room, and when you have reached your verdict, your foreperson will fill in the form, sign and date it, and advise the bailiff that you are ready to return to the courtroom.