Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset: Jury Instructions

8/8/2019 Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset: Jury Instructions

1/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.1Membersofthejury,theinstructionsIgaveatthebeginningofthetrial

andduring

the

trial

remain

in

effect.

Inow

give

you

some

additional

instructions.

Youmust,ofcourse,continuetofollowtheinstructionsIgaveyouearlier,

aswellasthoseIgiveyounow. Youmustnotsingleoutsomeinstructionsand

ignoreothers,becauseallareimportant.

TheinstructionsIamabouttogiveyounowareinwritingandwillbe

availabletoyouinthejuryroom. Again,allinstructions,whenevergivenand

whetherinwritingornot,mustbefollowed.

Donotallowsympathyorprejudicetoinfluenceyou. Thelawdemandsof

youajust

verdict,

unaffected

by

anything

except

the

evidence,

your

common

sense,andthelawasIgiveittoyou.

CASE 0:06-cv-01497-MJD -LIB Document 422 Filed 11/03/10 Page 1 of 21


2/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.2Neitherintheseinstructionsnorinanyruling,actionorremarkthatIhave

madeduring

the

course

of

this

trial

have

Iintended

to

give

any

opinion

or

suggestionastowhatyourverdictsshouldbe.

DuringthistrialIhaveoccasionallyaskedquestionsofwitnesses. Donot

assumethatbecauseIaskedquestionsIholdanyopiniononthematterstowhich

myquestionsrelated.



3/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.3Ihavementionedthewordevidence. Evidenceincludesthetestimony

ofwitnesses;

documents

and

other

things

received

as

exhibits;

any

facts

that

have

beenstipulated thatis,formallyagreedtobytheparties;andanyfactsthathave

beenjudiciallynoticed thatisfactswhichIsayyoumustacceptastrue.

Certainthingsarenotevidence. Iwilllistthosethingsforyounow:

1. Statements,arguments,questionsandcommentsbythelawyerstrying

thiscasearenotevidence.

2. Exhibitsthatareidentifiedbyapartybutnotofferedorreceivedin

evidencearenotevidence.

3. Objectionsarenotevidence. Lawyershavearightandsometimesan

obligationto

object

when

they

believe

something

is

improper.

You

should

not

be

influencedbytheobjection. IfIsustainanobjectiontoaquestionoranexhibit,

youmustignorethequestionortheexhibitandmustnottrytoguesswhatthe

informationmighthavebeen.

4.

Testimony

and

exhibits

that

I

strike

from

the

record,

or

tell

you

to

disregard,arenotevidenceandmustnotbeconsidered.

5. Anythingyouseeorhearaboutthiscaseoutsidethecourtroomisnot

evidence.



4/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.4Therearetwotypesofevidencethataregenerallypresentedduringatrial

direct

evidence

and

circumstantial

evidence.

Direct

evidence

is

the

testimony

ofapersonwhoassertsorclaimstohaveactualknowledgeofafact,suchasan

eyewitness. Circumstantialevidenceisproofofachainoffactsand

circumstancesindicatingtheexistenceofafact. Thelawmakesnodistinction

betweentheweightorvaluetobegiventoeitherdirectorcircumstantial

evidence. Norisagreaterdegreeofcertaintyrequiredofcircumstantialevidence

thanofdirectevidence. Youshouldweighalltheevidenceinthecase.



5/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.5Theplaintiffsandthedefendanthavestipulated thatis,theyhaveagreed

that

if

Kevin

Havemeier,

Eric

Stanely,

and

Barbara

Matul

were

called

as

a

witnesstheywouldtestifyinthewaycounselhavestated. Youshouldaccept

thatasbeingKevinHavemeiers,EricStanelys,andBarbaraMatulstestimony,

justasifithadbeengivenhereincourtfromthewitnessstand.



6/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.6Youareinstructedthatthepartieshaveagreedthatthefollowingfactsare

notin

dispute,

and

you

should

accept

them

as

proven:

1. Plaintiffsplacedcopyrightnoticesoneachofthecompactdisc

containersandonthesurfaceofeachofthecompactdiscscontainingthe24

soundrecordingslistedonAmendedExhibitA(PlaintiffsTrialExhibit1)and

AmendedSchedule1(PlaintiffsTrialExhibit2)asprovidedinsection402ofthe

CopyrightAct.

2. DefendantsubscribedtotheInternetserviceprovidedbyCharter

Communications,Inc.,whichwastheInternetServiceProviderthatconnected

DefendantsComputertotheInternetonFebruary21,2005.

3. OnFebruary

21,

2005

at

approximately

11:09

p.m.

EST,

the

MAC

addressforDefendantsmodemwhichconnectedhercomputertotheInternet

was0002.8acf.5590.



7/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.7Indecidingwhatthefactsare,youmayhavetodecidewhattestimonyyou

believeand

what

testimony

you

do

not

believe.

You

may

believe

all

of

what

a

witnesssaid,oronlypartofit,ornoneofit.

Indecidingwhattestimonytobelieve,youmayconsiderthewitnesses

intelligence,theiropportunitytohaveseenorheardthethingstheytestifyabout,

theirmemory,anymotivestheymayhavefortestifyingacertainway,their

mannerwhiletestifying,whethertheysaidsomethingdifferentatanearliertime,

thegeneralreasonablenessoftheirtestimony,andtheextenttowhichthe

testimonyisconsistentwithotherevidencethatyoubelieve.

Indecidingwhetherornottobelieveawitness,keepinmindthatpeople

sometimeshear

or

see

things

differently

and

sometimes

forget

things.

You

need

toconsiderthereforewhetheracontradictionisaninnocentmisrecollectionor

lapseofmemoryoranintentionalfalsehood,andthatmaydependonwhetherit

hastodowithanimportantfactoronlyasmalldetail.

After

making

your

own

judgment,

you

will

give

the

testimony

of

each

witnesssuchweight,ifany,thatyoumaythinkitdeserves. Inshort,youmay

acceptorrejectthetestimonyofanywitness,inwholeorinpart.

Inaddition,theweightoftheevidenceisnotnecessarilydeterminedbythe



8/21

numberofwitnessestestifyingtotheexistenceornonexistenceofanyfact. You

mayfindthatthetestimonyofasmallnumberofwitnessesastoanyfactismore

crediblethan

the

testimony

of

alarger

number

of

witnesses

to

the

contrary.



9/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.8Youaretoconsideronlytheevidenceinthecase. However,youarenot

limitedto

the

statements

of

the

witnesses.

In

other

words,

you

are

not

limited

to

whatyouseeandhearasthewitnessestestify. Youmaydrawfromthefactsthat

youfindhavebeenprovedsuchreasonableinferencesasseemjustifiedinlightof

yourexperience.

Inferencesaredeductionsorconclusionsthatreasonandcommonsense

leadyoutodrawfromfactsestablishedbytheevidenceofthecase.

Iamadvisedthatreportsaboutthistrialareappearinginthenewspapers,

ontelevisionandradio,andontheinternet. Thepersonwhowroteoris

reportingthestorymaynothavelistenedtoallofthetestimonyasyouhave,

maybe

getting

information

from

people

who

you

will

not

see

here

in

Court

underoathandsubjecttocrossexamination,mayemphasizeanunimportant

point,ormaysimplybewrong. Thecasemustbedecidedbyyousolelyand

exclusivelyontheevidencereceivedhereincourt.



10/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.9Theknowledgethatapersonpossessesatanygiventimemaynot

ordinarilybe

proved

directly,

because

there

is

no

way

of

directly

scrutinizing

the

workingsofthehumanmind. Indeterminingtheissueofwhatapersonknewat

aparticulartime,youmayconsideranystatementsmadeoractsdonebythat

personandallotherfactsandcircumstancesreceivedinevidence,whichmayaid

inyourdeterminationofthatpersonsknowledge.



11/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.10Knowledgemaybeeitheractualorinferredfromtheevidence. Moreover,

knowledgecan

be

established

by

intentional

concealment

of

copyright

infringement.



12/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.11Therulesofevidenceordinarilydonotpermitwitnessestotestifyasto

opinionsor

conclusions.

An

exception

to

this

rule

exists

for

expert

witnesses.

Anexpertwitnessisapersonwho,byeducationandexperiencehasbecome

expertinsomeart,science,profession,orcalling. Expertwitnessesmaystate

theiropinionsastomattersinwhichtheyprofesstobeexpert,andmayalsostate

theirreasonsfortheiropinions.

Youshouldconsidereachexpertopinionreceivedinevidenceinthiscase,

andgiveitsuchweightasyouthinkitdeserves. Ifyoushoulddecidethatthe

opinionofanexpertwitnessisnotbaseduponsufficienteducationand

experience,orifyoushouldconcludethatthereasonsgiveninsupportofthe

opinionare

not

sound,

or

if

you

feel

that

it

is

outweighed

by

other

evidence,

you

maydisregardtheopinionentirely.



13/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.12Intheseinstructionsyouaretoldthatyourverdictdependsonwhether

youfind

certain

facts

have

been

proved

by

the

greater

weight

of

the

evidence.

Theburdenofprovingafactisuponthepartywhoseclaimdependsuponthat

fact. Thepartywhohastheburdenofprovingafactmustproveitbythegreater

weightoftheevidence. Inordertofindthatafacthasbeenprovedbythegreater

weightoftheevidence,youmustfindthatitismorelikelytruethannottrue. It

isdeterminedbyconsideringalloftheevidenceanddecidingwhichevidenceis

morebelievable. If,onanyissueinthecase,youcannotdecidewhetherafactis

morelikelytruethannottrue,youcannotfindthatithasbeenproved.

Thegreaterweightoftheevidenceisnotnecessarilydeterminedbythe

greaternumber

of

witnesses

or

exhibits

aparty

has

presented.

Youmayhaveheardofthetermproofbeyondareasonabledoubt. That

isastricterstandardwhichappliesincriminalcases. Itdoesnotapplyincivil

casessuchasthis. Youshould,therefore,putitoutofyourminds.



14/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.13Youshouldconsideranddecidethiscaseasadisputebetweenpersonsof

equalstanding

in

the

community,

of

equal

worth,

and

holding

the

same

or

similarsituationsinlife. Acorporationisentitledtothesamefairtrialasa

privateindividual. Allpersons,includingcorporations,andotherorganizations

standequalbeforethelaw,andaretobetreatedasequals.



15/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.14Thisisanactionforcopyrightinfringement. Acopyrightistheexclusive

rightto

copy.

A

copyrighted

work

can

be

aliterary

work,

musical

work,

dramaticwork,pantomime,choreographicwork,pictorialwork,graphicwork,

sculpturalwork,motionpicture,audiovisualwork,soundrecording,

architecturalwork,maskworksfixedinsemiconductorchipproducts,ora

computerprogram.

Theownerofacopyrightgenerallyhastherighttoexcludeanyother

personfromreproducing,preparingderivativeworks,distributing,performing,

displaying,orusingtheworkcoveredbycopyrightforaspecificperiodoftime.

Onewhoreproducesordistributesacopyrightedworkduringthetermofthe

copyright,infringes

the

copyright,

unless

licensed

by

the

copyright

owner.

Inthiscase,ajuryinanearliertrialdeterminedthattheplaintiffsare

copyrightownersorlicenseesofexclusiverightsunderUnitedStatescopyright

withrespecttocertaincopyrightedsoundrecordings,whicharelistedonTrial

Exhibit

1

and

Trial

Exhibit

2,

and

that

the

defendant,

Jammie

Thomas

Rasset,

infringedplaintiffscopyrightsintheseworksbyusinganonlinemedia

distributionsystemknownasKaZaAtodownloadtheplaintiffscopyrighted

recordingsandtodistributethecopyrightedrecordingswithouttheplaintiffs



16/21

authorizationoralicense.



17/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.15Willfulmeansthatadefendanthadknowledgethatheractions

constitutedcopyright

infringement

or

acted

with

reckless

disregard

of

the

copyrightholdersrights.

Youareherebyinstructedthatajuryinaprevioustrialhasalready

determinedthatthedefendantsinfringementofplaintiffscopyrightswas

willful.



18/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.16Inthiscase,thereisnoissueastothedefendantsliabilityforwillful

copyrightinfringement.

Asaresult,yoursoleresponsibilityistodeterminetheamountofdamages

tobeawardedtotheplaintiffsforthedefendantswillfulinfringementofthe

plaintiffscopyrights.



19/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.17Inthiscase,eachplaintiffhaselectedtorecoverstatutorydamages

insteadof

actual

damages

and

profits.

A

copyright

holder

may

recover

statutory

damagesevenifitdidnotsubmitevidenceregardingactualdamages.

UndertheCopyrightAct,eachplaintiffisentitledtoasumofnotlessthan

$750ormorethan$30,000peractofinfringement(thatis,persoundrecording

downloadedordistributedwithoutlicense). Becausethedefendantsconduct

waswillful,theneachplaintiffisentitledtoasumofupto$150,000peractof

infringement(thatis,persoundrecordingdownloadedordistributedwithout

license),asyouconsiderjust.

Indeterminingthejustamountofstatutorydamagesforaninfringing

defendant,you

may

consider

the

willfulness

of

the

defendants

conduct,

the

defendantsinnocence,thedefendantscontinuationofinfringementafternotice

orknowledgeofthecopyrightorinrecklessdisregardofthecopyright,theeffect

ofthedefendantspriororconcurrentcopyrightinfringementactivity,whether

profit

or

gain

was

established,

harm

to

the

plaintiff,

the

value

of

the

copyright,

theneedtodeterthisdefendantandotherpotentialinfringers,andany

mitigatingcircumstances.



20/21

JURYINSTRUCTIONNO.18Inconductingyourdeliberationsandreturningyourverdict,thereare

certainrules

you

must

follow.

First,whenyougotothejuryroom,youmustselectoneofyourmembers

asyourforeperson. Thatpersonwillpresideoveryourdiscussionsandspeakfor

youhereincourt.

Second,itisyourduty,asjurors,todiscussthiscasewithoneanotherin

thejuryroom. Youshouldtrytoreachagreementifyoucandosowithout

violencetoindividualjudgment,becauseaverdictmustbeunanimous.

Eachofyoumustmakeyourownconscientiousdecision,butonlyafter

youhaveconsideredalltheevidence,discusseditfullywithyourfellowjurors,

andlistened

to

the

views

of

your

fellow

jurors.

Donotbeafraidtochangeyouropinionsifthediscussionpersuadesyou

thatyoushould. Butdonotcometoadecisionsimplybecauseotherjurorsthink

itisright,orsimplytoreachaverdict. Rememberatalltimesthatyouarenot

partisans.

You

are

judges

judges

of

the

facts.

Your

sole

interest

is

to

seek

the

truthfromtheevidenceinthecase.

Third,ifyouneedtocommunicatewithmeduringyourdeliberations,you

maysendanotetomethroughthecourtsecurityofficer,signedbyoneormore



21/21

jurors. Iwillrespondassoonaspossibleeitherinwritingororallyinopencourt.

Rememberthatyoushouldnottellanyone includingme howyourvotesstand

numerically.

Fourth,yourverdictmustbebasedsolelyontheevidenceandonthelaw

whichIhavegiventoyouinmyinstructions. Theverdictmustbeunanimous.

NothingIhavesaidordoneisintendedtosuggestwhatyourverdictshouldbe

thatisentirelyforyoutodecide.

Finally,theverdictformissimplythewrittennoticeofthedecisionthat

youreachinthiscase. Theformreads:[THEFORMWASREADTOTHEJURY.]

Youwilltakethisformtothejuryroom,andwheneachofyouhasagreedonthe

verdicts,yourforepersonwillfillintheform,signanddateit,andadvisethe

courtsecurity

officer

that

you

are

ready

to

return

to

the

courtroom.


Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset: Jury Instructions

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