Carol Hassler
Two Wisconsin court system employees are being recognized with a 2022 Legal Innovator Award from the State Bar of Wisconsin for their work on a project that made the state’s official jury instructions freely available through the Wisconsin State Law Library’s website.
Carol Hassler, a librarian and website developer at the Library, and Bryce Pierson, legal advisor to the Office of Judicial Education, together won one of four Legal Innovator Awards announced in the November issue of the Bar’s Wisconsin Lawyer magazine:
“Available for free to anyone with an internet connection, the resource was designed to be user friendly for not only lawyers and judges but also laypeople, including self-represented litigants, removing daunting barriers to access and allowing for faster updates and greater search efficiency. Instructions, along with footnotes and commentary, can be accessed on a computer, smartphone, or tablet.”
“Available for free to anyone with an internet connection, the resource was designed to be user friendly for not only lawyers and judges but also laypeople, including self-represented litigants, removing daunting barriers to access and allowing for faster updates and greater search efficiency. Instructions, along with footnotes and commentary, can be accessed on a computer, smartphone, or tablet.”
The award will be formally presented at a ceremony in December.
The jury instructions project was completed in 2021 and replaced what had been a paid, subscription-based service of the UW Law School. The changeover was conducted in cooperation with the law school and the Director of State Courts Office through the State Law Library and Office of Judicial Education.
Bryce Pierson
Wisconsin Jury Instructions serve as models, checklists or minimum standards to assist judges and lawyers in providing instructions to jurors who must reach verdicts during trials.
The State Bar of Wisconsin’s Communications Committee, which judges the Innovator Awards process recognized the innovative approach to providing faster updates, increased search efficiency, and more user-friendly functions. One judge stated: “Digitizing and making available for free jury instructions is an excellent idea! I know of many lawyers (and others) who need this information. This makes the instructions easy to find, easy to obtain, and at no charge. Great innovation with the use of technology.”
While the transition changed the method of publication and distribution of jury instructions, it had very little impact on the traditional model of content creation. All three Jury Instructions Committees of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference continue their standard schedules and work in developing the instructions.