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October 17, 2014
Recent Changes to the Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions-Civil
(Second)
Earlier this year the Oklahoma Supreme Court adopted several new uniform civil jury
instructions and made revisions to some existing uniform instructions. These changes had been
recommended by the Oklahoma Supreme Court Committee for Uniform Civil Jury Instructions.
In Re: Amendments to the Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions - Civil (Second), 2014 OK 17. The
amendments to OUJI-CIV became effective April 23, 2014. There were also a handful of
recommended instructions the OUJI-CIV Committee had submitted to the Supreme Court that
were not adopted. It is as important to be aware of the recommended instructions that were
not adopted as it is to be aware of those that were adopted. This highlights the changes.
General Instructions.
OUJI-CIV No. 1.2A is new and allows the trial court to require prospective jurors to
complete a juror questionnaire. The questionnaire is intended to assist the judge and attorneys
in expediting the jury selection process. In order to maintain the confidentially of the juror
questionnaire new court rules were enacted regarding the disposition of the original and copies
of the questionnaires. A new instruction regarding video/computer animations is included in
Chapter 3. This instruction, OUJI-CIV No. 3.26, advises the jury it may accept or reject the
animation and cautions it is not an actual re-creation of the events in question.
Taxation Of Awards.
