A. Jurors shall be permitted to take notes. The court shall provide the needed writing implements. Jurors may, but need not, take notes and such notes as are taken may be used during the jury's deliberations but shall not be preserved for review on appeal. The trial judge shall ensure the confidentiality of the notes during the course of the trial and the jury's deliberations. At each recess prior to jury deliberation, the court shall collect and maintain any and all notes made by each juror and upon reconvening, the court shall return to each juror his individual notes and shall cause the notes to be destroyed immediately upon return of the verdict. B. The court may allow the jury to take with them any object or writing received in evidence, except depositions and except as otherwise provided in the Louisiana Code of Evidence.
Art. 1794.Taking Evidence to Jury Room
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title V. Trial · Chapter 7. Jury Trial · Last amended 1997 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1794 lets jurors take notes during trial under court-controlled confidentiality, collected at each recess and returned when the jury reconvenes and destroyed once the verdict is returned, and lets the court send admitted exhibits into the jury room, though depositions are generally kept out.
Full Text of Art. 1794
Amendment History
Acts 1983, No. 534, §7; Acts 1988, No. 515, §2, eff. 1/1/1989; Acts 1997, No. 668, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Article 1794 covers two different things jurors might handle outside the courtroom: their own notes, and the exhibits admitted at trial. Jurors are permitted to take notes, and the court must provide the writing implements to do so. Taking notes is optional for each juror, and any notes taken can be used during deliberations — but they are never preserved for review on appeal, and the trial judge is responsible for keeping the notes confidential throughout the trial and the deliberations. At every recess before the jury begins deliberating, the court collects and holds each juror's notes, returning them individually when court reconvenes, and once the verdict comes in, the notes are destroyed immediately.
Paragraph B addresses physical evidence rather than notes. The court may allow the jury to take with it into deliberations any object or writing that was received in evidence, with two exceptions: depositions are generally kept out of the jury room, and the Louisiana Code of Evidence may impose its own further limits on what the jury can take.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Louisiana civil jurors allowed to take notes during trial?
Yes, and the court must supply the writing implements; taking notes is optional for each juror.
What happens to juror notes after the trial?
They are destroyed immediately once the verdict is returned and are never preserved for appellate review.
Can jurors keep their notes during a recess before deliberations?
No. The court collects and holds the notes at each recess and returns them individually to each juror only when court reconvenes.
Can the jury take exhibits into the deliberation room?
Generally yes, except depositions and except as otherwise limited by the Louisiana Code of Evidence.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: juror notes LouisianaArticle 1794 Louisiana Code of Civil Procedureexhibits in jury room Louisianataking evidence into deliberations Louisiana