There are two sets of jury instructions for Maryland, one published by the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA), the other by LexisNexis. The information below is related to research in the MSBA set. For information on the LexisNexis set, see the Checklist for that set.
MSBA publishes:
- Maryland Civil Pattern Jury Instructions (Fifth Edition, 2017)
- Maryland Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions (Second Edition, 2012)
Checklist for Superseded Jury Instructions Research
MSBA Pattern Jury Instructions Publications
MSBA publishes its set of pattern jury instructions as loose-leaf publications. This means that the publication consists of a binder with loose-leaf pages. Previous editions were also published in loose-leaf format.
Updates to loose-leaf publications are handled by removing amended pages and inserting new pages. The old pages are then discarded. While loose-leaf format is common for legal publications, it presents a challenge to researchers interested in historic language.
MSBA's pattern jury instructions were not published or updated on a fixed, continuous schedule. Thus, there may be gaps in time, either in the publication or in the Library's holdings.
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One way to think about loose-leaf publications is to consider them to be living publications, similar to a website. When a website is updated, new webpages can be added and old webpages can be deleted. Or, you can have the same webpage, but the language on the site has changed. The website may have information about when it was last updated, so you can determine its currentness. However, if you want to find out exactly what the webpage looked like three years ago, you have a challenge, and you might not be able to find this information. Supplements are not published on a regular schedule. Check the title page or supplement page of the binder to determine the date of the last update. |
Step One: Locate the appropriate edition.
Search the Library's online catalog for available editions. The catalog also provides information about supplements and/or updates.
Maryland Civil Pattern Jury Instructions
- 1984 Edition
- 1993 Edition
- 2002 Edition
- 2017 Edition
Maryland Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions
- 1987 Edition
- 1991 Edition
- 2012 Edition
Select the edition that either matches or most closely predates the target research year.
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Example: There is a 1987 edition, a 1991 edition, and a 2012 edition of the MSBA's Maryland Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions.
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Step Two: Once you have identified the appropriate edition for your research, identify the date range for this publication.
- MSBA's pattern jury instructions were not published or updated on a fixed, continuous schedule. There may be gaps in time, either in the publication or in the Library's holdings.
- You must identify the date range for the publication because your target research date range can fall outside of this date range.
- Check the resource's title pages. These pages will include information about the resource's initial date of publication and supplement/update information.
- The date range begins on the publication date.
- The date range ends on the date of the last update or supplement.
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Examples: You would like to identify language from 1998. The closest edition is the 1991 edition, but the last update was from 1997. 1998 does not fall within this publication's date range of 1991-1997. This resource will not provide the desired information. Check that you have identified the correct edition. If you have, then you may need to identify other titles or resources for your research. You would like to identify language from 1998. The closest edition is the 1991 edition, and the last update was from 1999. 1998 falls within the publication's date range of 1991-1999. Proceed to the next step. |
Step Three: Identify the pages within the publication that address your research topic.
- Check the table of contents.
- Check the index.
- Browse the publication.
Step Four: Once you have identified the appropriate page range, locate the date on every page within the range.
- Each page of a new update has a date that indicates the year of the update.
- A page with no date indicates that the information dates from the original publication date (e.g., a page with no date in the 1991 edition indicates that the language originated in 1991, and there have been no changes since 1991).
Step Five: Confirm that the date range of all relevant pages corresponds to the desired time period.
If the date of any page falls outside the research time frame, then this resource may not provide the desired information.
Researching superseded jury instructions is challenging and finding the desired language may not be possible. Please contact a law librarian for assistance.