Art. 1793.Instructions to Jury; Objections

Article 1793 structures how jury instructions get requested, disclosed, and preserved for appeal. At the close of evidence, or at an earlier point the court sets, any party may file written requests asking the court to instruct the jury on the law as stated in those requests. The court then owes the parties advance notice: it must tell them how it plans to rule on those written requests and what instructions it intends to give at the close of evidence, within a reasonable time before the parties argue the case to the jury.

That advance notice sets up the article's objection rule. A party cannot claim on appeal that the court gave, or failed to give, a particular instruction unless it objected — either before the jury retires to consider its verdict or immediately after the jury retires — stating specifically what it is objecting to and the grounds for the objection. A general or vague objection will not do; the rule expects the objecting party to identify the matter precisely. A party objecting before the jury retires is entitled to make that objection outside the jury's hearing, so the disagreement over instructions does not play out in front of the panel that has to follow them. As with Article 1792, the jury may take a written copy of the instructions and charges into deliberations.