1 Before or at the close of the evidence. Before trial and, as the court permits, during trial, a party may file written requests for the jury instructions it wants the court to give.
2 After the close of the evidence. After the close of the evidence, a party may:
A file requests for instructions on issues that could not reasonably have been anticipated by any earlier filing deadline ordered by the court; and
B with the court’s permission, file untimely requests for instructions on any issue.
1 Generally. Jury instructions should be as readily understandable as possible by individuals unfamiliar with the legal system. Each juror must be provided with a copy of the court’s preliminary and final instructions on the law before they are read to the jury and before the jury retires to deliberate.
2 Preliminary instructions. After the jury is sworn, the court should instruct the jury on:
A its duties and conduct;
B the order of proceedings;
C the procedure for submitting written questions to witnesses or to the court;
D the procedure for note-taking;
E the nature of the evidence and its evaluation;
F any issues to be addressed;
G the legal principles that will govern the trial; and
H the procedures to be followed if the jury experiences any problem or difficulty during trial.
3 Final instructions. The court:
A may give an instruction as proposed, refuse to give the instruction, or modify the instruction, indicating on the record the modifications made;
B must inform the parties of its proposed instructions and proposed action on the requests before instructing the jury and before final jury arguments;
C must give the parties an opportunity to object on the record and out of the jury’s hearing before the instructions and arguments are delivered;
D may instruct the jury at any time before the jury is discharged; and
E must make a record of its rulings.
1 How to make. A party who objects to an instruction or the failure to give an instruction must do so on the record, stating distinctly the matter objected to and the grounds for the objection.
2 When to make. An objection is timely if:
A a party objects at the opportunity provided under Rule 51(b)(3)(C); or
B a party was not informed of an instruction or action on a request before having an opportunity to object under Rule 51(b)(3)(C), and the party objects promptly after learning that the instruction or request will be, or has been, given or refused.
d Assigning error; fundamental error.
1 Assigning error. A party may assign as error:
A an error in an instruction actually given, if that party properly objected; or
B a failure to give an instruction, if that party properly requested it and-unless the court rejected the request in a definitive ruling on the record-also properly objected.
2 Fundamental error. A court may consider a fundamental error as allowed by law, even if the error was not preserved.
1 Jury communications. All communications between the court and members of the jury panel must be in writing or on the record.
2 Preliminary and final instructions. The court’s preliminary and final instructions on the law must be in writing and filed.
Promulgated by R-16-0010, effective January 1, 2017.
A party may file written requests for jury instructions before or during trial, and can request additional instructions after the close of evidence if the issue could not reasonably have been anticipated earlier, or with the court's permission for any issue. Instructions should be understandable to people unfamiliar with the legal system, and each juror gets a written copy of the preliminary and final instructions before they are read. Before instructing the jury and before closing arguments, the court must tell the parties what it plans to instruct and how it has ruled on their requests, and must give them a chance to object on the record, outside the jury's hearing.
This is where Rule 51 changed in 2017: instead of Arizona's older practice of allowing objections anytime before the jury retired to deliberate, the rule now requires a party to object at that pre-instruction opportunity, or promptly after learning of an instruction or ruling it wasn't told about beforehand. A party can only raise an instructional error on appeal if it properly objected to an instruction the court gave, or properly requested and objected to an instruction the court refused to give. Fundamental error is a narrow exception that a court may still consider even when it wasn't preserved this way.