What instructions might the judge provide to the jury during the course of the trial?
As the trial progresses, the judge may further instruct the jury regarding its consideration of certain testimony. For instance, if the judge concludes certain testimony should not be admitted into evidence, the judge will instruct the jurors to disregard that evidence they may have heard. (Attorneys do try to anticipate before trial what matters should or should not be admitted at trial by filing pretrial motions and asking the judge to rule on points of evidence before the trial begins. There are times, however, when a judge may decline to rule on the matter before trial. Also, a matter may be addressed in testimony that was not anticipated by the parties or the court, and the judge must rule on the matter during the trial.) Courts generally will assume that jurors will follow a judge’s instructions to disregard evidence. However, there are times when a matter may be so prejudicial to a party that a court cannot reasonably expect or trust that a jury will follow instructions to disre
