What Are CACI Jury Instructions (California)?

CACI jury instructions are the Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions, the official plain-English instructions California trial courts use to explain the law to civil juries. Adopted in 2003 to replace the older BAJI instructions, CACI is maintained by the Judicial Council of California and is revised and republished twice each year.

This article explains what the CACI instructions are, who maintains them, whether trial courts must use them and how litigators deploy them in California personal injury cases. Because the set is updated on a regular cycle, counsel should always confirm the current edition before drafting a proposed charge.

What Does CACI Stand For and What Are the Instructions?

CACI stands for California Civil Jury Instructions, the pattern civil charges approved by the Judicial Council of California for use in the state’s superior courts. The set covers the substantive and procedural law a civil jury needs to decide a case — negligence, causation, damages, affirmative defenses and dozens of specialized torts — expressed in language an ordinary juror can follow. Each instruction carries a number, a title, bracketed options for case-specific facts, and accompanying “Directions for Use” and “Sources and Authority” that ground the text in statutes and case law.

The Judicial Council adopted CACI in 2003 as the successor to BAJI (Book of Approved Jury Instructions), the older set that had governed California civil trials for decades. The central design goal was comprehension: CACI was drafted deliberately in plain English so that jurors, not just lawyers, could understand the standard being applied.

• CACI numbers organize the instructions by subject, such as the 400 series for negligence and the 3900 series for damages.
• Bracketed language and blanks let counsel tailor an instruction to the specific parties and claims.
• The “Directions for Use” and “Sources and Authority” notes explain when an instruction applies and cite its legal basis.
• CACI replaced BAJI, which is no longer the state-endorsed set, though older opinions may still reference it.

Who Publishes and Updates the CACI Instructions?

The Judicial Council of California, the policymaking body for the state courts, publishes and maintains the CACI instructions through its Advisory Committee on Civil Jury Instructions. The committee monitors new legislation and appellate decisions, drafts revisions and circulates proposals for public comment before the Judicial Council approves them. Official versions are released by the Council’s publisher, and the instructions are also made publicly available.

Revisions issue on a twice-yearly cycle, which keeps the set current with statutory amendments and evolving case law. Because a topic can be added, renumbered or reworded between editions, the edition in force at the time of trial controls and practitioners cite the specific release they relied on.

• The Judicial Council’s advisory committee drafts and vets each proposed change.
• New and amended instructions typically follow a public-comment period before adoption.
• The set is republished on a regular semiannual schedule.
• The current release governs, so counsel should verify numbering and text against the latest edition.

Are California Courts Required to Use CACI Instructions?

California trial courts are strongly directed to use the CACI instructions, though the mandate is not absolute. California Rule of Court 2.1050 endorses the Judicial Council instructions as the official instructions and provides that they are the ones a judge should use whenever they accurately state the law. A court may depart from a CACI instruction only when it determines that a different instruction would more accurately state the applicable law.

That framework gives CACI far more weight than a purely optional treatise. Practically, a judge who uses the correct CACI instruction is on safe ground, while a party seeking a non-standard or modified charge shoulders the burden of showing that CACI misstates the law or does not fit the facts. This is a stronger endorsement than the persuasive-only status of the New York Pattern Jury Instructions, and it resembles the mandatory-when-applicable rule that governs the Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions.

• Rule of Court 2.1050 makes CACI the presumptively correct source for civil charges.
• A court may use a modified or special instruction only where CACI would not accurately state the law.
• The party proposing a departure must justify it, not the party relying on CACI.
• Using the standard instruction generally insulates the charge from later challenge.

How Do Lawyers Use CACI Instructions in Personal Injury Cases?

Lawyers use CACI to frame the legal theory of an injury case from the pleadings through the verdict form, because the instructions define the elements each side must prove. Early in a case, counsel reverse-engineer the applicable CACI instructions to identify exactly what the evidence must establish — for a negligence claim, for instance, the duty, breach, causation and harm set out in the 400-series charges. At trial, the parties submit proposed instructions, argue over bracketed options and modifications and use the agreed language to structure closing argument.

CACI matters in personal injury litigation because it standardizes how juries are told to evaluate liability and damages, including the comparative negligence apportionment that reduces a plaintiff‘s recovery and the categories of pain and suffering a jury may consider. Getting the instruction right is not a clerical task — a wording dispute over a single CACI charge can shape the verdict and preserve or forfeit an issue for appeal. For a broader overview of how pattern charges function nationally, see the jury instructions hub.

1. Identify the CACI instructions that match each claim and defense in the case.
2. Use the elements in those instructions to guide discovery and marshal the proof.
3. Submit proposed instructions and negotiate bracketed options, insertions and any special charges.
4. Anchor closing argument to the exact language the jury will receive, and preserve objections to any instruction believed to misstate the law.

Conclusion

CACI jury instructions are California’s official, plain-English civil jury instructions, maintained by the Judicial Council of California and updated twice a year. They carry strong authority under Rule of Court 2.1050, which directs trial courts to use them unless a different instruction would more accurately state the law. For California injury litigators, the CACI set is both a drafting roadmap and a strategic battleground, and confirming the current edition and numbering is a routine but essential step before any charge conference.

Frequently Asked Questions