Jurors' use of instructions on negligence

At the end of a trial, the judge gives jurors a set of instructions that ex plain the laws that are applicable to the case and that direct jurors to re ach a verdict in accordance with those laws. Little is known about how well jurors understand instructions in civil cases. We assess the extent to whi ch jurors understand judicial instructions in negligence cases. We address 3 issues: (a) To what extent do they understand these instructions? (b) To what extent is their comprehension enhanced by access to a written copy of the instructions? and (c) What effect does deliberation have on jurors' com prehension levels? Overall comprehension was approximately 64% and access t o written instructions did not enhance comprehension, but the opportunity t o deliberate did.