(1) Before or at the Close of the Evidence. At the close of the evidence or at any earlier reasonable time that the court orders, a party may file and furnish to every other party written requests for the jury instructions it wants the court to give.
(2) After the Close of the Evidence. After the close of the evidence, a party may:
(A) file requests for instructions on issues that could not reasonably have been anticipated by an earlier time that the court set for requests; and
(B) with the court’s permission, file untimely requests for instructions on any issue.
(3) Format; Citation. The written requests must be in the format directed by the court. If a party relies on any statute, rule, caselaw, or other legal authority to support a requested instruction, the party must cite or provide a copy of the authority.
(b) Settling Instructions.
(1) The court must inform the parties of its proposed instructions and proposed action on the requests before instructing the jury.
(2) The court must give the parties an opportunity to object on the record and out of the jury’s hearing before the instructions and arguments are delivered.
(3) The court and the parties must make a record of the instructions that were proposed, that the court rejected or modified, and that the court gave to the jury. If the court modifies an instruction, the court must clearly indicate how the instruction was modified.
(1) How to Make. A party who objects to an instruction or the failure to give an instruction must do so on the record, stating distinctly the matter objected to and the grounds for the objection. If a party relies on any statute, rule, caselaw, or other legal authority to object to a requested instruction, the party must cite or provide a copy of the authority.
(2) When to Make. An objection is timely if:
(A) a party objects at the opportunity provided under Rule 51(b)(2); or
(B) a party was not informed of an instruction or action on a request before that opportunity to object, and the party objects promptly after learning that the instruction or request will be, or has been, given or refused.
(1) The court must instruct the jury before the parties’ closing arguments.
(2) The court may also give the jury further instructions that may become necessary by reason of the parties’ closing arguments.
(3) The final instructions given to the jury must be bound together in the order given and the court must sign the last instruction. The court must provide the original instructions or a copy of them to the jury.
(4) After the jury has reached a verdict and been discharged, the originals and copies of all given instructions must be made part of the trial court record.
(e) Assigning Error; Plain Error.
(1) Assigning Error. A party may assign as error:
(A) an error in an instruction actually given, if that party properly objected; or
(B) a failure to give an instruction, if that party properly requested it and—unless the court rejected the request in a definitive ruling on the record—also properly objected.
(2) Plain Error. A court may consider a plain error in the instructions that has not been preserved as required by Rule 51(e)(1) if the error affects substantial rights.
(1) Preliminary Instructions. Nothing in this rule prevents a party from requesting, or the court from giving, preliminary instructions to the jury. A request for preliminary instructions must be made at any reasonable time that the court orders. If preliminary instructions are requested or given, the court and the parties must comply with Rules 51(a)(3), 51(b), and 51(d)(4), as applicable.
(2) Other Instructions. This rule governs instructions to the jury on the law that governs the verdict. Other instructions, including instructions to a venire and cautionary or limiting instructions delivered in immediate response to events at trial, are outside the scope of this rule.
Amended eff. 2-15-55; Amended eff. 1-1-05; Amended eff. 3-1-19.
Parties submit written requests for jury instructions by the close of the evidence, or earlier if the court sets a deadline for them. Late requests are still allowed for issues that could not reasonably have been anticipated by that point, or with the court's permission for any other issue. Requests have to follow whatever format the court directs, and a party relying on a statute, rule, or case to support a requested instruction has to cite it or attach a copy. Before instructing the jury, the court has to lay out its proposed instructions and its planned ruling on every request, and give the parties a chance to object on the record, outside the jury's hearing. The court and parties then have to keep a record of what was proposed, what the court rejected or changed, and what went to the jury in the end, with any modification to an instruction clearly identified.
An objection has to state, distinctly, what instruction or omission is being challenged and why. It counts as timely if made at that pre-instruction conference, or, if a party was not told about an instruction or ruling beforehand, promptly after learning of it. An error in an instruction the court gave is preserved by a proper objection; a failure to give a requested instruction is preserved by the request itself plus a proper objection, unless the court already refused the request in a definitive ruling on the record, in which case no further objection is needed. A court may still consider a plain error affecting substantial rights even without that preservation. Instructions are read to the jury before closing arguments, with room for the court to add further instructions afterward if the closing arguments make that necessary; the final set is bound together, signed by the court, and given to the jury, and once the jury reaches a verdict and is discharged, all of the instructions become part of the trial court record. The rule leaves room for preliminary instructions given before the evidence starts, and makes clear it governs only instructions on the law that controls the verdict, not instructions to a jury venire or cautionary and limiting instructions given on the spot in response to something that happens at trial.