Last week, I posted that the Wisconsin Jury Instructions are now freely available online from the Wisconsin State Law Library. Since then, I’ve received additional clarification on the availability of the instructions via Fastcase, in print, and superseded and withdrawn instructions:
Availability on Fastcase
In addition to the State Law Library website, Wisconsin attorneys can also access the Wisconsin Jury Instructions via Fastcase through the State Bar of Wisconsin. Previously, a separate subscription was required, but going forward, the Jury Instructions will be included in Fastcase as a benefit to all State Bar members.
Fastcase is refunding the remaining subscription amounts, effective Feb. 1, for all State Bar members who purchased the additional jury instruction subscriptions to add to their free access to Fastcase.
For more information about the Jury Instructions in Fastcase as well as the recent merger of Fastcase with Casemaker, see my UW Law Library colleague Jenny Zook’s article in the latest InsideTrack, Fastcase and Casemaker Merger: What It Means for State Bar Members.
Availability in Print
The Office of Judicial Education does not have any plans at this time to distribute printed updates or complete print sets of jury instructions. However, those who wish to update their print sets can download and print their own updates from the State Law Library website. The updates will include the filing instructions and new or revised instructions bundled together in a single file. The printable index and table files will be updated annually and issued when the set is updated.
For those who wish to print an entire set, there are compilation files of all the instructions which can be downloaded and printed but they are quite large.
Superseded or Withdrawn Jury Instructions
Note that the State Law Library only publishes current jury instructions. However, superseded and withdrawn instructions back to 2015 are available to Wisconsin attorneys through Fastcase. Additionally, users may contact the Wisconsin State Law Library.