Rule 223.2. Conduct of the Jury Trial. Juror Note Taking.
(a)(1) Jurors shall be permitted to take notes during the presentation of evidence, opening statements, and closing arguments and use their notes during deliberations.
(2) Jurors shall not be permitted to take notes when the judge is instructing the jury as to the law that will govern the case.
(b) The court shall give an appropriate cautionary instruction to the jury prior to opening statements. The instruction shall include:
(1) Jurors are not required to take notes and those who take notes are not required to take extensive notes;
(2) Note taking should not divert jurors from paying full attention to the evidence and evaluating witness credibility, the opening statements, or the closing arguments;
(3) Notes are merely memory aids and are not evidence or the official record;
(4) Jurors who take few or no notes should not permit their independent recollection of the evidence to be influenced by the fact that other jurors have taken notes;
(5) Notes are confidential and will not be reviewed by the court or anyone else;
(6) A juror may not show his or her notes or disclose their contents to other jurors until deliberations begin, but may show the notes or disclose the contents during deliberations;
(7) Jurors shall not take their notes out of the courtroom except to use their notes during deliberations; and
(8) All juror notes will be collected after the trial is over and immediately destroyed.
Official Note
It is recommended that the trial judge instruct the jurors along the following lines:
We will distribute notepads and pens to each of you in the event you wish to take notes during the trial. You are under no obligation to take notes and those who take notes are not required to take extensive notes.
Remember that one of your responsibilities as a juror is to observe the demeanor of witnesses to help you assess their credibility. If you do take notes, do not become so involved with note taking that it interferes with your ability to observe a witness or distracts you from hearing other answers being given by the witness.
You may also take notes while the attorneys’ present their opening statements and when they will make their closing arguments about the evidence at the end of the trial. Again, if you do take notes, do not become so involved with note taking that it distracts from paying attention to the remainder of the opening statement or hearing all of the closing argument.
Your notes may help you refresh your recollection of the evidence as well as the attorneys’ opening statements or their closing arguments. Your notes should be treated as a supplement to, rather than a substitute for, your memory. Your notes are only to be used by you as memory aids and are not evidence or the official record.
Those of you who do not take notes should not permit your independent recollection of the evidence to be influenced by the fact that other jurors have taken notes. It is just as easy to write something down incorrectly as it is to remember it incorrectly and your fellow jurors’ notes are entitled to no greater weight than each juror’s independent memory. Although you may refer to your notes during deliberations, give no more or no less weight to the view of a fellow juror just because that juror did or did not take notes.
Each time that we adjourn, your notes will be collected and secured by court staff. Jurors shall not take their notes out of the courtroom except to use their notes during deliberations.
A juror may not show his or her notes or disclose their contents to other jurors until deliberations begin, but may show the notes or disclose their contents during deliberations. The only notes you may use during the deliberations are the notes you write in the courtroom during the proceedings on the materials distributed by the court staff.
Your notes are completely confidential and will not be reviewed by the court or anyone else. After the trial is over, your notes will be collected by court personnel and immediately destroyed.
(c) The court shall
(1) provide materials suitable for note taking,
Official Note
The materials provided by the court are the only materials that jurors may use for note taking.
(2) safeguard all juror notes at each recess and at the end of each trial day, and
(3) collect all juror notes as soon as the jury is dismissed and, without inspection, immediately destroy them.
(d)(1) Neither the court nor counsel may (i) request or suggest that jurors take notes, (ii) comment on their note taking, or (iii) attempt to read any notes.
(2) Juror notes may not be used by any party to the litigation as a basis for a request for a new trial.
Official Note
A court shall immediately deny a litigant’s request that juror notes be placed under seal until they are reviewed in connection with a request for a new trial on any ground, including juror misconduct. The notes shall be destroyed without inspection as soon as the jury is dismissed.
Source The provisions of this Rule 223.2 adopted July 30, 2003, effective September 1, 2003, 33 Pa.B. 4071; amended July 8, 2005, effective September 1, 2005, 35 Pa.B. 4087; amended December 3, 2021, effective April 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7860. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (381072) and (377861) to (377862).
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