LibGuides: Ohio Secondary Sources Legal Research Guide: Jury Instructions/ Elements of an Action

Ohio Jury Instructions

Ohio Jury Instructions by Ohio Judicial Conference
Call Number: KFO 542 .A65 O37
The Ohio Jury Instructions (OJI) Committee drafts Ohio Jury Instructions for newly enacted legislation and updates existing instructions as needed and required by intervening legal opinions or events. Also available on Lexis Advance.

Preface to OJI from 1968 (reprinted in 1983 and 1992, but not in current version)
Valuable history of the Ohio Jury Instructions.

6th Circuit Court of Appeals Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions

What are Elements of an Action?

"Elements" of a civil action are what the plaintiff needs to prove to prevail upon a specific cause of action, such as breach of contract or defamation.

The elements of a crime are what the prosecutor has to prove in order for the defendant to be convicted of a crime. Important in appeals when there is an assignment of error stating that there is insufficient evidence to support the verdict, or the verdict is against the manifest weight of the evidence.

The publication Elements of an Action (KFO 530 .E44) , which detailed elements of civil actions in Ohio ceased publication in 2011. It can still be used, with caution. Other resources for finding elements of an action in Ohio are listed in the next box.

Sources for Elements of an Action

Anderson's Ohio Civil Practice
Call Number: KFO 530 .A8
Includes forms for complaint pleadings, which include the elements of the action. Also available as an ebook from the Library's website, for Central Ohio attorneys with a Franklin County Law Library Card. Also available on Lexis on the Franklin County Law Library's public computers.
Katz & Giannelli Criminal Law
Call Number: KFO 561 .K38
Helpful for finding the elements of crimes.
Ohio Jurisprudence 3rd
Call Number: KFO 65 .O3543
An encyclopedia of Ohio law. Also available from Lexis on the Franklin County Law Library's public computers.
Ohio Jury Instructions by Ohio Judicial Conference
Call Number: KFO 542 .A65 O37
The Ohio Jury Instructions (OJI) Committee drafts Ohio Jury Instructions for newly enacted legislation and updates existing instructions as needed and required by intervening legal opinions or events. Also available Lexis Advance. Lexis Advance also has archived OJIs going back to 2007 a database of OJIs that have been retired due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

The Franklin County Law Library has two print copies of each of these books. One is for Library use only. The other can be checked out by attorneys with a Franklin County Law Library card.