Editing Jury instructions (section)

===United States===
Under the American judicial system, juries are often the [[trier of fact]] when they serve in a trial. In other words, it is their job to sort through disputed accounts presented in evidence. The judge decides questions of law, meaning he or she decides how the law applies to a given set of facts. Jury instructions are given to the jury by the judge, who usually reads them aloud to the jury. The judge issues a judge's charge to inform the jury how to act in deciding a case.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/juryinstruct/ |title = How Courts Work}}</ref> The jury instructions provide something of a [[flowchart]] on what [[verdict]] jurors should deliver based on what they determine to be true. Put another way, "If you believe A (set of facts), you must find X (verdict).  If you believe B (set of facts), you must find Y (verdict)."  Jury instructions can also serve an important role in guiding the jury how to consider certain evidence.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://federalevidence.com/node/893 |title=Overview - Federal Jury Instructions & Federal Evidence |access-date=2011-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004040207/http://federalevidence.com/node/893 |archive-date=2011-10-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

All 50 states have a model set of instructions, usually called "pattern jury instructions", which provide the framework for the charge to the jury; sometimes, only names and circumstances have to be filled in for a particular case. Often they are much more complex, although certain elements frequently recur. For instance, if a criminal defendant chooses not to testify, the jury will often be instructed not to draw any negative conclusions from that decision.  Many jurisdictions are now instructing jurors not to communicate about the case through social networking services like Facebook and Twitter.<ref>Ensuring An Impartial Jury In The Age Of Social Media, Duke Law and Technology Review (2012), http://dukedltr.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/stevefinal_31.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809091013/https://dukedltr.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/stevefinal_31.pdf |date=2017-08-09 }}</ref>