A. If the jury, after retiring for deliberation, desires to receive information on any point of law, they shall be conducted to the courtroom. B. After giving notice to the parties, the court may give the appropriate instructions. C. The court, after giving notice to the parties, may recall the jury after they have retired:
Art. 1796.Additional Instructions
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title V. Trial · Chapter 7. Jury Trial · Enacted 1983 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1796 lets a deliberating jury return to the courtroom for additional instructions on a point of law, and separately lets the court recall the jury on its own initiative, after notifying the parties, to fix an erroneous or ambiguous instruction or cover a point of law it missed the first time.
Full Text of Art. 1796
(1) To correct or withdraw an erroneous instruction.
(2) To clarify an ambiguous instruction.
(3) To inform the jury on a point of law which should have been covered in the original instructions.
(4) To give such further instructions as may be appropriate.
Amendment History
Added by Acts 1983, No. 534, §7.
Plain-English Summary
Article 1796 covers two related situations that can come up after a jury has retired to deliberate. The first is jury-initiated: if the jury wants information on a point of law, it is conducted back to the courtroom, and after the court notifies the parties, the court may give the appropriate instructions.
The second is court-initiated. Paragraph C lets the court, after notifying the parties, recall the jury on its own once it has retired, for any of several reasons: to correct or withdraw an instruction the court concludes was erroneous, to clarify an instruction that turned out to be ambiguous, to inform the jury of a point of law that should have been covered the first time but was not, or to give whatever further instructions the situation calls for. Read together with Article 1793's objection procedure, this article gives the court a way to fix a problem with the charge even after deliberations are underway, rather than waiting for an appeal to address it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the jury ask questions about the law during deliberations?
Yes. The jury is brought back to the courtroom, and after notice to the parties, the court may give appropriate additional instructions.
Can the judge recall the jury without the jury asking for it?
Yes. Article 1796(C) lets the court recall the jury on its own initiative to correct or clarify an instruction or cover a missed point of law, after notifying the parties.
What if the original jury charge had an error in it?
The court may recall the jury to correct or withdraw the erroneous instruction, even after deliberations have started.
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: additional jury instructions LouisianaArticle 1796 Louisiana Code of Civil Procedurerecall jury correct instruction Louisianajury question point of law Louisiana