1.05 Evidence; Objections; Rulings; Bench Conferences
I have mentioned the word "evidence." Evidence includes the testimony of witnesses, documents and other things received as exhibits, and any facts that have been stipulated-that is, formally agreed to by the parties.
There are rules of evidence that control what can be received into evidence. When a lawyer asks a question or offers an exhibit into evidence, and a lawyer on the other side thinks that it is not permitted by the rules of evidence, that lawyer may object. This simply means that the lawyer is requesting that I make a decision on a particular rule of evidence.
Then it may be necessary for me to talk with the lawyers out of the hearing of the jury, either by having a bench conference here while the jury is present in the courtroom, or by calling a recess. Please understand that while you are waiting, we are working. The purpose of these conferences is to decide how certain evidence is to be treated under the rules of evidence, and to avoid confusion and error. We will, of course, do what we can to keep the number and length of these conferences to a minimum.
Certain things are not evidence. I will list those things for you now:
(1) Statements, arguments, questions and comments by lawyers representing the parties in the case are not evidence.
(2) Objections are not evidence. Lawyers have a duty to their client to object when they believe something is improper under the rules of evidence. You should not be influenced by the objection. If I sustain an objection, you must ignore the question or exhibit and must not try to guess what the answer might have been or the exhibit might have contained. If I overrule the objection, the evidence will be admitted, but do not give it special attention because of the objection.
(3) Testimony that I strike from the record, or tell you to disregard, is not evidence and must not be considered.
(4) Anything you see or hear about this case outside the courtroom is not evidence, unless I specifically tell you otherwise during the trial.
Furthermore, a particular item of evidence is sometimes received for a limited purpose only. That is, it can be used by you only for a particular purpose, and not for any other purpose. I will tell you when that occurs and instruct you on the purposes for which the item can and cannot be used.
Finally, some of you may have heard the terms "direct evidence" and "circumstantial evidence." Direct evidence is testimony by a witness about what that witness personally saw or heard or did. Circumstantial evidence is indirect evidence, that is, it is proof of one or more facts from which one can find or infer another fact. You may consider both direct and circumstantial evidence. The law permits you to give equal weight to both, but it is for you to decide how much weight to give to any evidence.
This instruction is derived from Federal Judicial Center Instruction 1, Eighth Circuit Instructions 1.03, 1.07 and Ninth Circuit Instructions 1.05, 1.06.