Last amended July 1, 2001 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 51 sets the procedure for submitting proposed jury instructions, requires the court to preview its instructions with counsel before closing arguments, and demands a specific, timely objection to preserve any error in the instructions given or refused.
Full Text of Rule 51
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At the close of the evidence or at such earlier time as the court may reasonably direct, any party may submit requested jury instructions to the court. The court shall inform counsel of its proposed action upon the requested instructions and also inform counsel of all other instructions it proposes to submit to the jury. The court shall instruct the jury prior to the arguments of counsel. No party may assign as error the giving or the failure to give an instruction unless he objects thereto before or at the time the instruction is given, stating distinctly the matter to which he objects and the grounds of his objection, and no party may assign as error the failure to instruct on any issue unless such party has submitted a proposed instruction on that issue. Opportunity shall be given to make objections to instructions out of the hearing of the jury.
A mere general objection shall not be sufficient to obtain appellate review of the court’s action relating to instructions to the jury except as to an instruction directing a verdict or the court’s action in declining to do so.
Amendment History
Amended May 24, 2001, effective July 1, 2001.
Reporter's Notes
Reporter’s Notes to Rule 51: 1. Rule 51 varies materially from FRCP 51 and instead tracks prior Arkansas law. Article 7, Section 23 of the Arkansas Constitution requires trial judges to declare the law and reduce the charge to writing at the request of either party. There was no specific statutory provision under prior Arkansas law which required that a party’s requested jury instructions had to be submitted to the court by a certain time. Many courts adopted local rules specifying such time and this rule will have no effect on such local rules, provided, of course, that the time limit specified therein is reasonable.
2. This rule requires the trial court to inform counsel of the action taken on requested jury instructions and also inform counsel of the instructions which the court intends to submit to the jury. This is to enable counsel to review the instructions to be given and frame such objections thereto as may be desired. Also, this rule continues the prior Arkansas procedure of having jury instructions given prior to the arguments of counsel as provided in superseded Ark. Stat. Ann. § 27-1727 (Repl. 1962).
3. The provisions of this rule concerning objections to instructions are lifted from Rule 13 of the Uniform Rules for Circuit and Chancery Judges [abolished]. Under the Federal Rule, objections may be made at any time prior to the retirement of the jury for deliberations. Under this rule, objections must be made before or at the time the instructions are given.
Addition to Reporter’s Notes, 2001 Amendment: The word "trial," which modified "court’s" the second paragraph, has been deleted in light of Constitutional Amendment 80, which established the circuit courts as the "trial courts of original jurisdiction" in the state and abolished the separate chancery and probate courts.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 51 walks through jury instructions from request to objection. Any party can hand up requested instructions at the close of the evidence, or earlier if the court asks for them sooner -- a timing choice many circuits pin down further with their own local deadlines, which Rule 51 leaves untouched as long as they are reasonable. Before instructing the jury, the court has to tell counsel what it plans to do with each requested instruction and disclose every other instruction it intends to give, so both sides know exactly what the jury will hear before it hears it. Arkansas practice, unlike the federal system, requires instructions to be read to the jury before closing arguments rather than after.
That advance disclosure exists so lawyers can build their objections. To challenge an instruction that was given, or the refusal to give one, a party has to object before or at the moment the instruction is delivered, stating distinctly what the objection targets and the grounds for it -- and those objections happen outside the jury's hearing, so the argument over the law does not play out in front of the panel deciding the facts. A party cannot fault the court for failing to instruct on some issue unless that party submitted a proposed instruction covering it; you cannot complain about a gap you never asked the court to fill.
The rule is unforgiving about vagueness. A general objection -- one that does not specify what is wrong with an instruction -- will not get appellate review of the trial court's ruling on it. The single exception is an instruction that directs a verdict, or the court's refusal to give one: because that kind of instruction takes the case away from the jury entirely, a general objection to it (or to the court's declining to give it) is enough to preserve the issue.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do I need to submit my proposed jury instructions?
At the close of the evidence at the latest, though the court can direct that they be submitted earlier. Many courts set their own local deadlines for this, which Rule 51 leaves in place as long as they give a reasonable amount of time.
Does the court have to tell me what instructions it plans to give before it gives them?
Yes. The court must inform counsel of its proposed action on each requested instruction and disclose every other instruction it intends to submit to the jury, so lawyers can prepare objections before the jury hears anything.
What do I need to say to preserve an objection to a jury instruction?
State distinctly what you are objecting to and why, before or at the time the instruction is given. A vague or general objection will not preserve the issue for appeal, with one narrow exception for instructions that direct a verdict.
Can I argue on appeal that the court should have instructed the jury on an issue it left out?
Only if you submitted a proposed instruction on that issue at trial. Rule 51 will not let you fault the court for an omission you never asked it to correct.
Do objections to jury instructions happen in front of the jury?
No. The rule requires that parties be given an opportunity to object to instructions outside the jury’s hearing, keeping legal argument separate from what the jury sees and hears.
Is there any situation where a general objection to a jury instruction is good enough?
Yes, one: an instruction that directs a verdict, or the court’s refusal to give one. Because that instruction effectively decides the case, a general objection to it is sufficient without the specificity Rule 51 otherwise demands.
When are jury instructions read to the jury relative to closing arguments in Arkansas?
Before closing arguments. That sequence, carried over from prior Arkansas practice, differs from jurisdictions that instruct the jury only after the lawyers have made their final arguments.
Source & verification. Rule text, Reporter's Notes, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, prescribed by
the Arkansas Supreme Court. The plain-English summary is original and written by us.
Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:jury instructions arkansasobjecting to jury instructions arkansasproposed jury instructions arkansaspreserving jury instruction errorrequested instructions civil trial