Pennsylvania Supreme Court amends Rules of Civil Procedure to allow written Jury Instructions to be provided to Jury

On December 23, 2011, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court amended Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure No. 223.1 to permit the trial judge to provide written jury instructions following the court’s oral instructions to the jury. The jury instructions contain the law to be applied to the facts in the particular case. Prior to this amendment, the trial judge would orally charge the jury with the applicable law, but during deliberations, the jury did not have written instructions from the judge to refer to for questions or clarification. Juries will now have the instructions available for reference during deliberations. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not address whether the written jury instructions may be provided to the jury. Some Federal Courts have permitted this, while others have not. The new amendments to Pennsylvania Rule 223.2 become effective on February 1, 2012.

Any questions may be directed to Stephanie Hersperger, Esquire, at 717-255-7239 or shersperger@tthlaw.com.