California jury instructions are the directions a judge reads to the jury before deliberation, telling the jurors exactly what the law requires them to decide. The state uses two official sets, both approved by the Judicial Council: CACI for civil cases and CALCRIM for criminal cases. Both are designated as the state’s official instructions under California Rules of Court, Rule 2.1050.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 2.1050 – Judicial Council Jury Instructions A flawed instruction can change a verdict, and it is one of the most common grounds for appeal.
The Two Official Sets
CACI covers civil disputes between private parties: negligence, breach of contract, product liability, damages, and the rest. CALCRIM covers criminal prosecutions, including the elements of offenses like assault, theft, and homicide, and the mental state required for each.
Both sets replaced older instructions (BAJI on the civil side, CALJIC on the criminal side) that had been criticized for dense legal jargon. The Judicial Council designed CACI and CALCRIM to be understandable to the average juror.2Judicial Branch of California. California Jury Instructions The shift is more than cosmetic. Where the old civil instruction on burden of proof asked jurors whether evidence “preponderates,” the CACI replacement simply tells them to decide whether a claim is “more likely to be true than not true.”3Judicial Branch of California. Civil Plain English Comparison
Burden of Proof: The Biggest Practical Difference
The most important working difference between the two sets is how heavily the party with the burden has to prove its case.
In a civil case, CACI tells the jury that a party must prove its claim is “more likely to be true than not true,” which lawyers call a preponderance of the evidence.3Judicial Branch of California. Civil Plain English Comparison In a criminal case, the standard is far higher. CALCRIM No. 220 defines proof beyond a reasonable doubt as “proof that leaves you with an abiding conviction that the charge is true,” and tells jurors the evidence does not need to eliminate every possible doubt, only every reasonable one.4Justia Law. CALCRIM No. 220 – Reasonable Doubt
A third standard sits between the other two: clear and convincing evidence. It applies to specific civil claims like fraud and to requests for punitive damages. Under that standard, the jury must find that a fact is “highly probable” rather than merely more likely than not.
How Instructions Get Chosen
The process starts long before closing arguments. In civil cases, California law requires attorneys to deliver their proposed instructions to the judge and opposing counsel before the first witness is sworn. Those initial proposals cover the law raised by the pleadings, and lawyers can submit more after the evidence comes in to address issues that emerged during testimony.5Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure 607a-619
Before closing arguments, the judge decides which proposed instructions to give, refuse, or modify, and tells the attorneys what the jury will hear. This conference, sometimes called “settling the instructions,” is where the real fights happen. Lawyers argue for language favorable to their side, object to the other side’s proposals, and negotiate wording. If something unexpected comes up during closing argument, the court can give additional instructions on that topic afterward.5Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure 607a-619
Special Instructions
The pattern instructions cover most situations, but some cases involve legal issues the standard forms do not address. Either party can ask the judge to give a “special instruction” written for that particular issue. The judge must give it as requested, refuse it, or give a modified version, and the record must clearly show what happened with each request.6Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure 607a-619 – Section 609 In practice, judges are cautious about departing from the approved patterns, because non-standard language is more vulnerable on appeal.
Special Verdicts
In some cases, the judge directs the jury to return a special verdict instead of a simple “plaintiff wins” or “defendant wins” general verdict. A special verdict requires the jury to answer specific factual questions in writing. For any case involving punitive damages, the court is required to use a special verdict that separates punitive damages from compensatory damages.7California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 625 If the jury’s answers to the special verdict questions conflict with a general verdict, the special findings control.
What Happens in the Deliberation Room
After reading the instructions aloud, the judge advises the jury that a written copy is available. The judge has discretion over whether to hand it over automatically, but if the jury asks, the court must provide one.8Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure 607a-619 – Section 612.5 In criminal cases, all instructions must be given in writing unless a court reporter is present to transcribe them.
Having the written text in the room matters. The Judicial Council’s own deliberation guide suggests jurors start by reviewing the instructions, identifying each element the law requires them to find, and then working through the evidence element by element.9Judicial Council of California. A Guide to Jury Deliberations Jurors treat the instructions as the definitive statement of the law, regardless of what the attorneys argued or what any juror personally thinks the law should be.
Questions During Deliberation
In criminal cases, if the jury disagrees about testimony or wants clarification on a legal point during deliberation, they must be brought back into the courtroom. The judge then provides the requested information with both the prosecutor and defense attorney present or notified.10California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1138 This safeguard keeps jurors from guessing about what the law means. Judges typically respond by re-reading the relevant instruction, sometimes with brief additional guidance. The same general principle applies in civil cases, though the statutory mechanism differs.
When a Bad Instruction Leads to Reversal
An incorrect or misleading jury instruction is one of the most common grounds for appeal in California. The state constitution sets the threshold: no verdict can be overturned for a flawed instruction unless the error resulted in a “miscarriage of justice.”11FindLaw. Constitution of the State of California Art. VI, Section 13 That phrase sounds vague, but courts have given it a concrete test.
For most instruction errors in civil cases, the California Supreme Court requires reversal only if there is a “reasonable probability” the jury would have reached a different result without the error. In Soule v. General Motors, the court laid out five factors for assessing that probability: how conflicted the evidence was, whether the attorneys’ arguments made the error worse, whether the jury asked for a re-reading of the flawed instruction, how close the verdict was, and whether other instructions offset the mistake.12Justia Law. Soule v. General Motors Corp. (1994) “Reasonable probability” does not mean more likely than not; it means a reasonable chance beyond speculation.
Criminal instruction errors that implicate a defendant’s constitutional rights face a stricter test. The prosecution must show beyond a reasonable doubt that the error did not affect the verdict. That is a much harder standard for the government to meet, and errors involving elements of the offense or the reasonable-doubt standard frequently lead to reversals.
Preserving the Issue
Timing matters. If an attorney disagrees with an instruction, they need to object on the record before the jury deliberates. Failing to object can waive the issue on appeal. In civil cases, an error in law at trial is a recognized ground for a new trial, but only if the party objected at the time.13California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 657 Criminal cases have a slightly broader safety valve: an appellate court can review an instruction even without an objection if the defendant’s substantial rights were affected. That exception exists because the consequences of a criminal conviction are so severe, and it is not something any defense attorney should rely on deliberately.
Reading the Instructions Yourself
Both instruction sets are available free on the California courts website. CACI instructions, organized by topic, are published through the Civil Jury Instructions Resource Center, and CALCRIM instructions through the Criminal Jury Instructions Advisory Committee page.2Judicial Branch of California. California Jury Instructions If you are a party, a juror, or just trying to understand a case, reading the instructions that will apply is one of the most useful things you can do before trial. The language is written to be plain, and seeing exactly what the jury will be asked to decide removes much of the mystery from the process.