Jury Charges Zeeman Rev 2¶

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF DEKALB COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA

JONATHAN SWEATMAN § Plaintiff, § § Civil Action # 21 CV 9795 v. §
§
SARAH ZEEMAN §
Defendant. §

DEFENDANT ZEEMAN’S PROPOSED JURY CHARGES

COMES NOW, Sarah Zeeman, Defendant files her proposed Jury Charges on this date of December 2023.

This ______ day of November 2023.

/s/Jeff Banks Attorney for Ms. Zeeman P.O. Box 2719 Kennesaw, Georgia 30156 (678) 797-6364 jeffsbanks@hotmail.com

                             /s/ Brett Michael-Schiff Ledermeier
                             Attorney for Ms. Zeeman
                                         11625 Rainwater Drive
                                     Ste 125
                                         Alpharetta, GA 30009       
                             Direct:  404.365.4564

Main: 770.200.7000 bledermeier@mmatllaw.com

DEFENDANT ZEEMAN’S REQUEST TO CHARGE # ____

00.040 Burden of Proof In a civil case such as this, the plaintiff has the burden of proving his/her case. The plaintiff must prove this case by what is known as a “preponderance of the evidence.” The term “preponderance” means “greater weight,” and as it is used here, “preponderance of the evidence” means “the greater weight of evidence upon the issues involved.” The weight of evidence need not be enough to completely free the mind from a reasonable doubt. However, to be a preponderance, the weight of the evidence must be sufficient to incline a reasonable and impartial mind to one side of the issue rather than to the other.

If you find that the evidence is evenly balanced on any issue in the case, it would then be your duty to resolve that issue against the party having the burden of proving that issue.

(Note: The preceding paragraph has been disapproved by Dyer v. Souther, 274 Ga. 61 [2001].)

DEFENDANT ZEEMAN’S REQUEST TO CHARGE # ____

00.110 Juror Use of Electronic Technology to Conduct Research on or Communicate about a Case (Before Trial:) To preserve the integrity of the jury system, you as finders of facts must decide this case solely upon evidence presented in this courtroom. This means that during the trial, you must not conduct any independent research about this case, the matters in the case, and the individuals or corporations involved in the case. In other words, you should not consult dictionaries or reference materials; search the Internet, websites, or blogs; or use any other electronic tools to obtain information about this case or to help you decide the case. Please do not try to find out information from any source outside the confines of this courtroom— to include media of any sort or online legal research. Until you retire to deliberate, you may not discuss this case with anyone, even your fellow jurors. After you retire to deliberate, you may begin discussing the case with your fellow jurors, but you cannot discuss the case with anyone else until you have returned a verdict and the case is at an end. I hope that for all of you this case is interesting and noteworthy. I know that many of you use cell phones, Blackberries, the Internet, and other tools of technology. You also must not talk to anyone about this case or use these tools to communicate electronically with anyone about the case. This includes your family and friends. You may not communicate with anyone about the case on your cell phone, through e-mail, Blackberry, iPhone, text messaging, or on Twitter; through any blog or website; through any Internet chat room; or by way of any other social networking websites, including Facebook, My Space, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

(At the Close of the Case:) During your deliberations, you must not communicate with or provide any information to anyone by any means about this case. You may not use any electronic device or media, such as a telephone, cell phone, smart phone, iPhone, Blackberry, or computer; the Internet, any Internet service, or any text or instant messaging service; or any Internet chat room, blog, or website such as Facebook, My Space, LinkedIn, YouTube, or Twitter to communicate to anyone any information about this case or to conduct any research about this case until I accept your verdict.

DEFENDANT ZEEMAN’S REQUEST TO CHARGE # ____

02.020 Burden of Proof; Generally; Preponderance of Evidence, Defined The plaintiff has the burden of proof, which means that the plaintiff must prove whatever it takes to make his/her case, except for any admissions (in pleadings) by the defendant. The plaintiff must prove his/her case by what is known as a preponderance of the evidence; that is, evidence upon the issues involved, while not enough to wholly free the mind from a reasonable doubt, is yet sufficient to incline a reasonable and impartial mind to one side of the issue rather than to the other.

O.C.G.A. §§24-14-1, 24-14-3, 24-8-821, 9-11-36(b) Superior Paving Inc. et al. v. Citadel Cement Corporation, 145 Ga. App. 6 (1978) Danforth v. Danforth, 156 Ga. App. 236, 239 (1980)

DEFENDANT ZEEMAN’S REQUEST TO CHARGE # ____

02.030 Burden of Proof; Counterclaims The defendant has filed what is known as a counterclaim; that is, the defendant claims that the plaintiff owes him/her for (state nature and amount of defendant’s claim) instead of the defendant owing the plaintiff. A counterclaim is covered by the same rules of law that govern the plaintiff’s claim. The defendant must prove his/her case by a preponderance of the evidence as it has just been explained. If neither party proves his/her case by a preponderance of the evidence, your verdict would be in favor of the defendant but without any monetary recovery.

Gunn v. Harris, 88 Ga. 439 (1891) Georgia, Florida & Alabama Railway Co. v. Summer, 133 Ga. 134 (1909) (and other decisions to note “charge” following O.C.G.A. §§24-14-1, 24-14-2) Whitley Construction Co. v. O’Dell, 94 Ga. App. 426 (1956) Cale v. Jones, 176 Ga. App. 865 (1985) Gilbert v. Powell, 165 Ga. App. 504 (1983)

(Note: In equity cases involving such issues as specific performance, accident and mistake, reformation, and others, a different and higher burden of proof is required. The language will have to be adjusted for each case, but the following charge may be helpful.)

DEFENDANT ZEEMAN’S REQUEST TO CHARGE # ____

02.040 Clear and Convincing Evidence As to the issue of punitive damages, the Defendant must prove to a reasonable certainty by clear, convincing, and decisive evidence that the (plaintiff) (defendant) is entitled to relief. This is a different and higher burden of proof than a mere preponderance of the evidence.

Yablon v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 200 Ga. 693 (1946) Wall et al. v. Wood, 174 Ga. 508 (1931) Liberty National Bank and Trust Co. et al. v. Diamond, 229 Ga. 677 (1972) Freeman v. Saxton, 243 Ga. 571 (1979)

Clear and convincing evidence is defined as evidence that will cause the jury to firmly believe each essential element of the claim to a high degree of probability. Proof by clear and convincing evidence requires a level of proof greater than a preponderance of the evidence but less than beyond a reasonable doubt.

Clarke v. Cotton, 263 Ga. 861 (1994) (The special concurrence to this decision contains a variety of definitions of clear and convincing evidence.)

DEFENDANT ZEEMAN’S REQUEST TO CHARGE # ____

02.100 Evidence, Generally Evidence is the means by which any fact that is put in question is established or disproved. Evidence includes all of the testimony of the witnesses as well as the exhibits admitted during the trial. (It also includes any stipulations, which are facts agreed to by the attorneys.)

Evidence may be either direct or circumstantial or both.

In considering the evidence, you may use reasoning and common sense to make deductions and reach conclusions. “Direct evidence” is the testimony of a person who asserts that he or she has actual knowledge of a fact such as an eyewitness or such as by personally observing or otherwise witnessing that fact. “Circumstantial evidence” is proof of [a chain or set of] facts and/or circumstances that tend to prove or disprove another fact by inference(that is, by consistency with such fact or elimination of other facts. There is no legal difference in the weight you may give to either direct or circumstantial evidence.

(Adapted from 11th Circuit PJI, p. 21)

DEFENDANT ZEEMAN’S REQUEST TO CHARGE # ____

02.110 Evidence, Direct or Circumstantial

Direct evidence is the testimony of a witness who has seen or heard the facts to which the witness testifies and that, if believed, is sufficient to prove or establish these facts.

Circumstantial evidence is the testimony of a witness who has seen or heard the facts to which the witness testifies, from which such facts, if believed, you may find other facts to exist, that are reasonable and believable to you in the light of your experience.

When circumstantial evidence is relied upon to establish a fact or theory, it must be

such as to reasonably establish that fact or theory rather than anything else.

Scott v. State, 57 Ga. App. 489 (1938) Southern Railway Co. v. Georgia Kraft Co., 258 Ga. 232 (1988)

DEFENDANT ZEEMAN’S REQUEST TO CHARGE # ____

02.130 Credibility of Witnesses

The jury must determine the credibility of the witnesses. In deciding this, you may consider all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the witnesses’ manner of testifying, their intelligence, their means and opportunity of knowing the facts about which they testify, the nature of the facts about which they testify, the probability or improbabili