CALCRIM No. 102. Note-Taking
Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (2023 edition)
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102.Note-Taking
You have been given notebooks and may take notes during the trial. Do
not remove them from the courtroom. You may take your notes into the
jury room during deliberations. I do not mean to discourage you from
taking notes, but here are some points to consider if you take notes:
1. Note-taking may tend to distract you. It may affect your ability to
listen carefully to all the testimony and to watch the witnesses as
they testify;
AND
2. The notes are for your own individual use to help you remember
what happened during the trial. Please keep in mind that your
notes may be inaccurate or incomplete.
At the end of the trial, your notes will be (collected and
destroyed/collected and retained by the court but not as a part of the
case record/ <specify other disposition>).
New January 2006; Revised June 2007, April 2008
BENCH NOTES
Instructional Duty
The court has a sua sponte duty to instruct the members of the jury that they may
take notes. California Rules of Court, Rule 2.1031.
The court may specify its preferred disposition of the notes after trial. No statute or
rule of court requires any particular disposition.
AUTHORITY
• Resolving Jurors’ Questions. Pen. Code, § 1137.
• Jurors’ Use of Notes. California Rules of Court, Rule 2.1031.
• This Instruction Upheld. People v. Ibarra (2007) 156 Cal.App.4th 1174, 1183
[67 Cal.Rptr.3d 871].
SECONDARY SOURCES
5 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Criminal Trial, § 726.
6 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Criminal Judgment,
§ 21.
4 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 85,
Submission to Jury and Verdict, § 85.05[2] (Matthew Bender).
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© Judicial Council of California.
