• In our system, we leave questions of fact to a jury. But to render a verdict, a jury must know the law. For this, we rely upon jury instructions. Instructions are supposed to translate the law into lay terms that the jury can apply to the facts as they determine them.

    Alafair Burke: In our system, we leave questions of fact to a jury. But to render a verdict, a jury must know the law. For this, we rely upon jury instructions. Instructions are supposed to translate the law into lay terms that the jury can apply to the facts as they determine them.
    "What You May Not Know About the Zimmerman Verdict: The Evolution of a Jury Instruction" by Alafair Burke, www.huffingtonpost.com. July 15, 2013.