Article 15: Uniform District Court Rules of Practice and Procedure · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 22, 2026
Section 6-1516 gathers three separate courtroom-management topics under one roof. The first is voir dire — the process of questioning prospective jurors before trial. Attorneys must ask questions to the whole panel together whenever they can, rather than picking off individual jurors one at a time. They cannot argue the case during jury selection, and they cannot ask jurors to promise how they would rule under some hypothetical set of facts, or quiz them on what instructions the judge might give. Voir dire exists to screen for bias, not to preview closing argument or lock jurors into a position before they have heard any evidence.
The second topic is how lawyers raise objections and motions once trial is underway. The rule asks for brevity: state the objection or motion and its grounds briefly and to the point. If a lawyer wants to argue the matter at greater length, the rule requires a request to the judge first — no side gets to launch into extended argument on an objection without the court’s permission.
The third topic is closing argument. Rather than fixing a flat time limit, the rule leaves the allotment to the trial judge’s discretion, guided by how long and complicated the trial was and how much time each side asked for. A short, simple case might warrant only a few minutes per side; a lengthy, document-heavy trial might call for much more.
The rule directs that questions be asked collectively of the entire panel whenever possible, rather than as a series of individual interrogations.
No. Section 6-1516 states that the case may not be argued in any way while questioning prospective jurors.
No. Jurors may not be asked for promises or commitments about the verdict they would return under any given circumstance, and may not be questioned about anticipated jury instructions.
Objections and motions must be stated briefly and to the point to the trial judge. Further argument requires a request to the judge, and the court decides whether to permit it.
No set number of minutes appears in the rule. The trial judge sets the time allotted for each side, weighing the length and complexity of the trial and how much time each side has requested.