Preliminary Jury Instructions

JUDGE NATHAN: Thank you so much. You may be seated. Members of the jury, now that you've been sworn, I'm going to give you some instructions about your duties as jurors. At the end of the trial, I'll give you more detailed instructions, and those instructions will control your deliberations in this case. But for now, let me explain how the trial will proceed. The first step in the trial will be opening statements. The government will make an opening statement. After that, I expect the lawyers for the defendant to make an opening statement as well. Those statements are not evidence. They serve no purpose other than to give you an idea in advance of the evidence that the lawyers expect you to hear from the witnesses. Those statements permit the lawyers to tell you a little bit of what the case is all about, but the only evidence comes from the witnesses and the exhibits. After opening statements, the government will present its evidence.

The government's evidence will consist of the testimony of witnesses, as well as documents and exhibits. The government will examine the witnesses and then the defendant's lawyers may cross-examine them. Following the government's case, the defendant may present a case, if she wishes. Again, because of the presumption of innocence, the defendant is not required to offer any proof. If the defendant does present a defense case, the defense witnesses will testify and the government will have the opportunity to cross-examine them. After the presentation of evidence is completed, the parties will deliver their closing arguments to summarize and interpret the evidence. Just as the parties' opening statements are not evidence, their closing arguments are not evidence either. Following closing arguments, I'll instruct you on the law. Then you will retire to deliberate on your verdict, which must be unanimous; it must be based on the evidence or lack of evidence presented at trial.

Your deliberations are secret. You'll never have to explain your verdict to anyone. As I told you, under the law, a defendant in a criminal case is presumed innocent and cannot be found guilty of the crimes charged unless a jury, after hearing all of the evidence in the case, unanimously decides that the evidence proves the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In a criminal case, the burden of proof remains with the prosecution, the government. For the jury to return a verdict of guilty as to the defendant, the government must prove that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. A person charged with a crime has absolutely no burden to prove that she's not guilty. And if the defendant chooses not to present any proof, that decision cannot be held against her and may not enter into your deliberations at all. I will, however, instruct you fully on the burden of proof after all of the evidence has been received.

Now, let me explain the jobs that you and I are to perform during the trial. I will decide which rules of law to apply to this case. I'll decide that by making legal rulings during the presentation of the evidence and also, as I told you, in giving the final instructions to you after the evidence and arguments are completed. In order to do my job, I may have to interrupt the proceedings from time to time to confer with the parties about the rules of law that should apply here. Sometimes we'll talk here at the bench outside of your hearing, but some of those conferences may take some more time than others; so as a convenience to you, I may excuse you from the courtroom. I'll try to avoid such interruptions as much as possible, but please be patient and understand that these conferences are necessary to ensure the fairness of the trial and often make the trial go faster. While I decide the law that applies to this case, you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, are the triers of fact.

You'll weigh the evidence presented and decide whether the government has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of the charges in the indictment. You must pay close attention to all of the evidence presented, and you must base your decision only on the evidence in the case and my instructions about the law. What then is evidence? Evidence consists only of the testimony of witnesses, documents, and other things admitted as evidence or stipulations agreed to by the parties. Some of you have probably heard the term "circumstantial evidence, direct evidence." Do not be concerned with these terms. You are to

JUDGE NATHAN: consider all of the evidence given in this trial. Certain things are not evidence and must not be considered by you. The following is a list of what is not evidence: First, arguments, statements, and questions by the lawyers are not evidence, nor are statements I make or questions I ask of a witness. Second, objections to questions are not evidence. The lawyers have an obligation to make an objection when they believe evidence being offered is improper under the rules of evidence. You should not be influenced by the objection or by my rulings on them. If the objection is sustained, ignore the question and any answer that may have been given. If it's overruled, treat the answer like any other. If you're instructed that some item of evidence is received for a limited purpose only, you must follow that instruction. Third, the testimony that I've excluded or told you to disregard is not evidence and must not be considered.

Fourth, anything you may have seen or heard outside the courtroom is not evidence and must be disregarded. You are to decide this case solely on the evidence presented here in the courtroom. There is no formula to evaluate testimony or exhibits. For now, suffice it to say that you bring with you into this courtroom all of the experience and background of your lives. Do not leave your common sense outside the courtroom. The same types of tests that you use in your everyday dealings are the tests that you should apply in deciding how much weight, if any, to give to the evidence in this case. The law does not require you to accept all of the evidence admitted at trial. In determining what evidence you accept, you must make your own evaluation from the testimony of each of the witnesses and the exhibits that are received in evidence. It is essential, however, that you keep an open mind until you've heard all of the evidence in the case.

A case can be presented only step by step, witness by witness, before all evidence is before you. As you know from your experience, you can hear one person give his or her version of an event and think it sounds very impressive or even compelling; and yet, upon hearing another person's version of the same event or even the same person cross-examined with respect to the event, things may seem very different. In other words, there may be another side to any witness's story. You should use your common sense and good judgment to evaluate each witness's testimony based on all of the circumstances. Again, I can't emphasize too strongly that you must keep an open mind until the trial is over. You should not reach any conclusion until you have all of the evidence before you. As I mentioned during jury selection, this case has received and will continue to receive significant attention in the media.

To protect their privacy, I have permitted witnesses, if they choose, to be referred to in open court by either their first name or a pseudonym. The full names of the witnesses are known to the government, the defendant, to the Court, and were shown to you during jury selection. This process should not bear in any way on your evaluation of the evidence in this case. Finally, let me caution you about certain rules and principles governing your conduct as jurors in this case. First, you must not talk to each other about this case or about anyone who has anything to do with this case until the end of the case, when you go to the jury room and decide your verdict. And the reason for this requirement is that you must not reach any conclusion on the charges until all of the evidence is in. As I've said, keep an open mind until you start your deliberations at the end of the case.

Second, do not communicate with anyone else about the case or about anyone having anything to do with it until the trial has ended and you've been discharged as jurors. "Anyone else" includes members of your family and your friends. And "no communicating about the case" means no communicating on your cell phone, iPhone, BlackBerry, text messaging, websites, internet chat rooms, email, social media websites or applications, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, You Tube, Reddit, etc., or by any other means. I know in this day and age there's a temptation to look at these devices or means of communication; but with your oath, you are making a commitment to resist that temptation. Of course, you may tell your family and friends that you're a juror in a criminal case,

JUDGE NATHAN: but you may not tell them anything else about it until you've been discharged by me. Third, do not let anyone talk to you about the case or about anyone who has anything to do with it. If any person should attempt to communicate with you about this case at any time throughout the trial, either in or out of the courthouse, you must immediately report that to my deputy, Ms. Williams, and to no one else. Ms. Williams will report it to me. And when I say report that communication to no one else, I mean you should not tell anyone, including your fellow jurors. To minimize the probability of any such improper communication, it is important that you go straight to the jury room when you come in in the morning, and that you remain in the jury room for the duration of the trial day. You should not linger in the public areas of the courthouse on this floor or elsewhere on your way in and out.

Fourth, do not do any research or any investigation about the case or about anyone who has anything to do with the case on your own. Don't go visit any place described in the trial, don't read or listen to or watch any news reports about the case, don't go on the internet or use whatever digital or communications device it is you use to see what you can learn to inform yourself about this matter. Again, I know that in this day and age there is a temptation, but as I've made clear throughout this process, this rule is very, very important. That's because your decision in this case must be made solely on the evidence or lack of evidence presented at this trial. In other words, all that you need to know will be presented here in open court by the parties. This is critically important to ensuring a fair trial, which I know that all of you would want if you were a party in this court, and I have no doubt it's what you want for the parties who are here today.

I expect you to inform me immediately through Ms. Williams if you become aware of another juror's violation of these instructions. Finally, each of you either has or will be given a notebook and pen; and that's because I do permit jurors to take notes. But you don't have to take notes. Notes are just an aid to your own recollection. The court reporters in this case record everything that's said in the courtroom, and any portion of the testimony can be read back to you during your deliberations. If you do take notes, be aware that note-taking may distract you from something important that's happening on the witness stand. Whether or not you take notes, rely on your own recollections and don't be influenced by the fact that another juror has taken notes. If you do take notes, all notes must be left each day in the jury room. Ms. Williams will make sure that they are secure.

From this point until the time when you retire to deliberate, it is your duty not to discuss this case with anyone and not to remain in the presence of other persons who may be discussing this case. And this includes discussions even with members of your own family and your friends. In this regard, please understand that the parties and the counsel in this case have been instructed by me to have no contact with any of you, not even to offer a friendly greeting. So if you happen to see any of them outside this courtroom and they don't acknowledge you, say hello, or make small talk, please do not take offense. They are not being rude; they are following my instructions. That concludes my preliminary instructions to you. We will begin after lunch with the initial stage of the case, which, as I said to you, is opening statements, and we'll begin when you return from lunch with the government.

Let me just note, as I've said in the beginning of jury selection, we are in an outfitted courtroom for COVID times. The witness will testify -- witnesses will testify in this Plexiglas box that has a HEPA filter, and they will remove their mask to testify when we have witnesses testify. The lawyer who will be questioning them and the lawyer during opening statements, for example, will be in that Plexiglas box which also has a HEPA filter, and they'll be permitted to remove their mask while they provide opening statements as well. So we are going to break for lunch which Ms. Williams has arranged. Please bear all of my instructions in mind. We'll break for 45 minutes for you to enjoy your lunch and for everyone else to take a lunch break. We will return in 45 minutes with opening statements. And we will stop at 5 p.m.