CALCRIM No. 202. Note-Taking and Reading Back of Testimony
Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (2024 edition)
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202.Note-Taking and Reading Back of Testimony
[You have been given notebooks and may have taken notes during the
trial. You may use your notes during deliberations.] Your 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.
If there is a disagreement about the testimony [and stipulations] at trial,
you may ask that the (court reporter’s record be read to/court’s
recording be played for) you. It is the record that must guide your
deliberations, not your notes. You must accept the (court reporter’s
record /court’s recording) as accurate. Do not ask the court reporter
questions during the readback and do not discuss the case in the
presence of the court reporter.
Please do not remove your notes from the jury room.
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, August 2009, February 2012,
March 2019, September 2020, March 2021
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.
If the jury requests transcripts, the court should remind the jury of the right to
request readback and to advise the court whether there is any testimony they want
read. (See People v. Triplett (2020) 48 Cal.App.5th 655, 662 [267 Cal.Rptr.3d 675].)
AUTHORITY
• Jurors’ Use of Notes. California Rules of Court, Rule 2.1031.
• Juror Deliberations Must Be Private and Confidential. People v. Oliver (1987)
196 Cal.App.3d 423, 429 [241 Cal.Rptr. 804].
SECONDARY SOURCES
6 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Criminal Judgment,
§ 21.
4 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 83,
31
Evidence, § 83.05[1], Ch. 85, Submission to Jury and Verdict, § 85.05[2], [3], Ch.
87, Death Penalty, §§ 87.20, 87.24 (Matthew Bender).
CALCRIM No. 202 POST-TRIAL: INTRODUCTORY
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© Judicial Council of California.
