I was on a jury once.
The judge gave us strict instructions that the defendant (Broward County) had admitted their guilt and that we had to find for the plaintiff.
Most of the jury had thought the county had done nothing wrong. The county saw a city sidewalk pushed up six inches by a tree root. They put some asphalt on it, like a temporary ramp, and called the city to come out and fix it. Before the city could fix it, some 82 year old guy tripped over the patch. He had Alzheimer’s and his gold digging 62 year old wife dropped him off for his hair cut while she went out shopping. When he was done with his haircut he waited for her for two hours. When she didn’t show he decided to walk down the street to a restaurant because he was hungry. That was when he tripped over the patch and broke his knee cap.
So this inconsiderate witch was suing the County for what was basically caused by her own negligence.
Because of the judges instructions we found for the plaintiff and awarded her $14K to cover the medical expenses and $1 in other damages.
Boy, was she pissed.
>>The judge gave us strict instructions that the defendant (Broward County) had admitted their guilt and that we had to find for the plaintiff.
First of all, the term is liability (rather than guilt) and second, the judge can’t do that except in a damages only trial. Jury instruction procedures vary by jurisdiction but in all cases, they will be disclosed to both sides prior to closing argument — likely before. Jury instructions more or less restate the law as it related to factual findings. There’s no way an attorney is going to let a judge give instructions to a jury to find for one side or the other. He has an easy appeal and likely a complaint to the judicial authority of that jurisdiction.
There is a possibility that, in your case, the Plaintiff had established liability of the defendant by something like a summary judgment motion — arguing there is no issue of material fact. Thus, the jury would hear evidence and award damages. But if that were the case, the judge would not have instructed you to find for the Plaintiff - he would have already done that. You would have heard evidence regarding medical bills, pain and suffering, etc. I can’t see any legit reason how a judge could ever instruct a jury on any actual finding of fact. Either you misinterpreted the instruction or the defense attorneys were all totally incompetent.