Jury charges (or “instructions”) are the questions, instructions, and definitions given to a jury by the judge in a case. They provide direction and information to the jury regarding their deliberations. Pattern jury charges are model jury charges designed to guide judges and lawyers in formulating jury charges. Along with model charge text, they often include comments and references to major cases.
The State Bar of Texas produces its own set of model jury charges called Texas Pattern Jury Charges (PJC), which are generally published on a two-year cycle. Other Texas pattern jury charges are produced by private companies. Further, some collections of actual jury charges are available, such as Texas State Jury Charge Filings on Lexis.
Current editions of civil pattern jury charges are available in print and online; criminal ones are only available online, via SBOT and Lexis.
From the State Bar of Texas (SBOT):
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