Each year the School of Government publishes new and revised pattern jury instructions for civil, criminal, and motor vehicle negligence cases. Those instructions are created and compiled by the North Carolina Conference of Superior Court Judges Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions. The 2023 updates are available for free download here.  Among this year’s changes are new civil instructions related to breach of fiduciary duty and new and revised criminal instructions for the arson offenses created by S.L. 2022-8 and for the changes to organized retail theft crimes enacted by S.L. 2022-30.

Online library now has titles. For many years the School has published a free online library of pattern jury instructions in pdf format. The library was helpful but was not particularly easy to navigate as instructions were listed by number without an explanatory title. We have added those titles for each instruction in all three categories, which should make it easier to find what you are looking for.

Updating your hard copy. If you have a hard copy of the instructions that you would like to update, you can do so by printing out the pdf file of the 2023 update, hole-punching it, and inserting it into the appropriate three-ring binder.

Future publication plans. Moving forward, the School will no longer sell hard copies of the pattern jury instructions. The current hard copy version consists of seven(!) three-inch three-ring binders. There are three volumes of instructions for civil, three for criminal, and one for motor vehicle negligence.

Instead, the School is currently working with CX Corporation, creator of the Official Electronic Edition of the North Carolina Pattern Jury Instructions, to create a comprehensive, searchable pdf for each category of instruction:  one pdf for civil, one for criminal, and one for motor vehicle negligence. Once created, those pdfs will be available for purchase on the School’s website. Because the pdfs will contain all of the instructions, including the annual updates, the School will no longer publish an annual supplement.

Thanks to the committee and its staff. As previously mentioned, the pattern jury instructions are created and compiled by the North Carolina Conference of Superior Court Judges Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions. That committee is comprised of the following judges:

• Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour (committee chair);
• Superior Court Judge Richard Gottlieb (civil law subcommittee chair);
• Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Carla Archie (civil law subcommittee member);
• Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin (civil law subcommittee member);
• Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Marvin Blount (civil law subcommittee member);
• Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Tom Lock (criminal law subcommittee chair);
• Superior Court Judge Gale Adams (criminal law subcommittee member);
• Superior Court Judge Joe Crosswhite (criminal law subcommittee member);
• Superior Court Judge Karen Eady-Williams (criminal law subcommittee member); and
• Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson (criminal law subcommittee member).

The committee and its staff (two reporters and two law students) convene monthly between August and May, typically on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.  Ashley Chandler, an associate at Fox Rothschild in Greensboro, serves as the reporter for the civil law subcommittee. Alan Woodlief, senior associate dean at Elon University School of Law, serves as the reporter for the criminal law subcommittee.

Finally, thanks to my colleague. Kevin Justice, director of academic publications for the School of Government, has for decades overseen the publication of the pattern jury instructions and has coordinated the School’s work with that of CX Corporation. Kevin has led the effort to improve the online library and to create a more functional future product.