The judicial authority may submit to the jury written interrogatories for the purpose of explaining or limiting a general verdict, which shall be answered and delivered to the clerk as a part of the verdict. The clerk will take the verdict and then the answers to the several interrogatories, and thereafter the clerk will take the judicial authority’s acceptance of the verdict returned and the questions as answered, and proceed according to the usual practice. The judicial authority will not accept a verdict until the interrogatories which are essential to the verdict have been answered.
Section 16-18.Interrogatories to the Jury
Current through August 12, 2025 (2026 Practice Book edition) · Last verified July 9, 2026
In one sentenceThis rule allows a judge to submit written interrogatories to the jury alongside a general verdict, and requires the jury's answers before the judicial authority will accept the verdict if those answers are essential to it.
Full Text of Section 16-18
Amendment History
(P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 312.)
Plain-English Summary
Section 16-18 lets the judicial authority submit written interrogatories — specific written questions — to the jury for the purpose of explaining or limiting a general verdict. The jury answers these interrogatories and delivers them to the clerk as part of the verdict.
The clerk follows a set sequence: take the verdict first, then the answers to the interrogatories, and afterward record the judicial authority’s acceptance of the verdict and the answered questions, proceeding according to the usual practice. The judicial authority will not accept a verdict until the interrogatories essential to that verdict have been answered.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are jury interrogatories in a Connecticut civil trial?
They’re written questions the judicial authority may submit to the jury for the purpose of explaining or limiting a general verdict, and the jury’s answers are delivered to the clerk as part of the verdict.
In what order does the clerk take the verdict and the interrogatory answers?
The clerk takes the verdict first, then the answers to the interrogatories, and only afterward records the judicial authority’s acceptance of both.
Can a judge accept a verdict if the interrogatories haven’t been answered?
Not if those interrogatories are essential to the verdict. Section 16-18 says the judicial authority will not accept a verdict until the essential interrogatories have been answered.
Source & verification. The section text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Connecticut Practice Book (Conn. Practice Book § 16-18). Prescribed by the Judges of the Superior Court of Connecticut (Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 51-14). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 9, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: interrogatories to the jury Connecticutwritten questions to jury with verdictspecial interrogatories civil trialgeneral verdict with interrogatoriesjury questions accompanying verdict