During a joint criminal trial, the prosecution introduces a redacted statement made by one defendant. The judge instructs the jury that it may consider the statement only against the declarant and not against the co-defendant. On appeal, the co-defendant argues that the jury must have ignored the limiting instruction.
Which of the following best states the general rule governing how appellate courts treat such limiting instructions?
Federal Rule of Evidence 105 requires a judge to order separate trials rather than give limiting instructions when evidence is admissible against only one party.
Appellate courts generally presume that juries follow the limiting instructions they are given, unless the record shows an extraordinary risk that jurors could not do so.
Limiting instructions are constitutionally forbidden whenever the evidence carries any risk of prejudice against a criminal defendant.
Juries are ordinarily presumed to disregard any limiting instruction and to consider evidence for any purpose they find persuasive.
Appellate courts start from the premise that juries follow the trial court's instructions-including limiting instructions that restrict the purposes for which evidence may be used. This presumption can be overcome only in extraordinary situations where experience shows jurors cannot reasonably be expected to comply (for example, the Bruton context of a facially incriminating confession). Because no such extraordinary circumstance is present in the fact pattern, the presumption applies, making Answer 1 correct and the remaining options incorrect.
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What are limiting instructions?
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What is meant by the doctrine of limited admissibility?
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How do courts ensure jurors follow limiting instructions?