CACI No. 5030. Implicit or Unconscious Bias
Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2025 edition)
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5030.Implicit or Unconscious Bias
In your role as a juror, you must not let bias influence your assessment
of the evidence or your decisions.
I will now provide some information about how bias might affect
decisionmaking. Our brains help us navigate and respond quickly to
events by grouping and categorizing people, places, and things. We all do
this. These mental shortcuts are helpful in some situations, but in the
courtroom they may lead to biased decisionmaking.
Bias can affect what we notice and pay attention to, what we see and
hear, what we remember, how we perceive people, and how we make
decisions. We may favor or be more likely to believe people whom we see
as similar to us or with whom we identify. Conversely, we may disfavor
or be less likely to believe people whom we see as different from us.
Although we are aware of some of our biases, we may not be aware of
all of them. We refer to biases that we are not aware of as “implicit” or
“unconscious.” They may be based on stereotypes we would reject if they
were brought to our attention. Implicit or unconscious biases can affect
how we perceive others and how we make decisions, without our being
aware of the effect of these biases on those decisions.
To ensure that bias does not affect your decisions in this case, consider
the following steps:
1. Reflect carefully and thoughtfully about the evidence. Think
about why you are making each decision and examine it for bias.
Resist the urge to jump to conclusions or to make judgments
based on personal likes or dislikes, generalizations, prejudices,
stereotypes, or biases.
2. Consider your initial impressions of the people and the evidence
in this case. Would your impressions be different if any of the
people were, for example, of a different age, gender, race,
religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or national origin? Was
your opinion affected because a person has a disability or speaks
in a language other than English or with an accent? Think about
the people involved in this case as individuals. Focusing on
individuals can help reduce the effect of biases or stereotypes on
decisionmaking.
3. Listen to the other jurors. Their backgrounds, experiences, and
insights may be different from yours. Hearing and sharing
different perspectives may help identify and eliminate biased
conclusions.
The law demands that jurors make unbiased decisions, and these
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strategies can help you fulfill this important responsibility. You must
base your decisions solely on the evidence presented, your evaluation of
that evidence, your common sense and experience, and these instructions.
New November 2023
Directions for Use
This instruction may be given on request or sua sponte.
Sources and Authority
• Duty to Prevent Bias and Ensure Fairness. Standard 10.20(b)(1), (2) of the
California Standards of Judicial Administration.
• Judge Must Perform Duties Without Bias. Canon 3(B)(5) of the California Code
of Judicial Ethics.
• “The right to unbiased and unprejudiced jurors is an inseparable and inalienable
part of the right to trial by jury guaranteed by the Constitution.” (Weathers v.
Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (1971) 5 Cal.3d 98, 110 [95 Cal.Rptr. 516, 485
P.2d 1132].)
Secondary Sources
Witkin, California Procedure (5th ed. 2008) Trial, §§ 145-146
1 California Trial Guide, Unit 10, Voir Dire Examination, §§ 10.03[1], 10.21[2],
10.50, 10.80, 10.100, 10.110 (Matthew Bender)
1 Matthew Bender Practice Guide: California Trial and Post-Trial Civil Procedure,
Ch. 6, Jury Selection, § 6.21
5031-5089. Reserved for Future Use
CONCLUDING INSTRUCTIONS CACI No. 5030
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© Judicial Council of California.
