[an error occurred while processing this directive] HOW TO USE THESE INSTRUCTIONS These civil jury instructions have been arranged with an awareness that judges follow different practices when it comes to jury instructions. Some judges send a full set of written instructions into the jury room after they have been read in open court. Other judges also provide jurors with written copies of the instructions to follow as they are read from the bench. Still other judges prefer not to provide the jury with any written instructions. These civil jury instructions have been arranged and drafted to accommodate any of these varying practices. Model Instruction 1.01 is a general instruction which is intended to give jurors an overview of their duties and trial procedures during the trial. It should be given at the commencement of the trial (after the jurors are sworn and before opening statements). Model Instruction 1.01 incorporates matters which are also addressed in Model Instructions 3.02 (Judge's Opinion) and 3.03 (Credibility of Witnesses). The Committee recommends that the general instructions which are given at the outset of the trial (Model Instructions 1.01 . 1.06) and those given during the middle of trial should not be repeated at the time the case is submitted to the jury, and should not be sent in writing to the jury room. Those general matters which are necessary to the jury's final deliberations are again repeated in Model Instructions 2.01 . 2.11, and 3.01 . 3.07. The Committee recognizes that varying burden-of-proof formulations are used in different jurisdictions. Judges and lawyers often are accustomed to using the burden-of-proof instruction found in the pattern civil jury instructions adopted by their particular states. Model Instruction 3.04 is a burden-of-proof instruction which is intended to accommodate the various formulations. However, the Committee recognizes that a judge may prefer to use the burden-of-proof formulation which is accepted in his or her state. If such a burden-of-proof instruction is used, the element/issue instructions must be modified accordingly. The Committee recommends that written instructions which are to be sent into the jury room should be numbered, in the order given, or accurately titled without numbering. If a "titling" method is used, the judge should be aware that the titles used in these instructions were not designed for such use and that an appropriately "neutral" method of expression should be used. Such instructions should also be free of any extraneous notations: for example, the model instruction number, the identity of the submitting party, committee notes, any notes by the court, and other such notations, should not appear on the written instructions given to the jury.