Rule 3.030.Manner of Address
Current through August 1, 2026 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 3.030
Plain-English Summary
Three restrictions sit in two sentences. During trial, litigants and their attorneys must not use first names for adult witnesses, jurors, or opposing parties. Except in voir dire, they must not address jurors individually. And jurors may not be addressed by name at all.
The rule supplies the alternative for jurors: a number, or another means the court orders. Ask at the start of trial how the court wants jurors identified, because the answer changes how you phrase a question in voir dire and how you refer to a juror on the record.
Read the first sentence closely. The first-name bar runs to adult witnesses, which leaves the handling of a child witness to the court rather than to this rule. The restrictions are also tied to trial, so they govern the proceeding itself rather than the corridor or the conference room. Contact with jurors outside the proceeding is a separate subject, addressed by UTCR 3.120.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I call a witness by their first name at trial?
Not an adult witness. During trial, litigants and their attorneys must not address adult witnesses by their first names, and the same bar covers jurors and opposing parties.
The sentence names adult witnesses, so how a child witness is addressed is left to the court.
How am I supposed to refer to a juror?
By number, or by another means the court orders. Jurors may not be addressed by name.
Because the court can set a different method, confirm the practice before voir dire starts.
Can I question one juror at a time during jury selection?
Yes. The bar on addressing jurors individually carves out voir dire, which is where individual questioning happens.
The name restriction has no such exception, so even in voir dire the juror is addressed by number or by whatever means the court orders.
Does the rule apply to someone representing themselves?
It does. The rule binds the litigants as well as the litigants' attorneys, so a self-represented party follows the same limits on how witnesses, jurors, and opposing parties are addressed.
Does this rule govern what happens outside of trial?
The rule opens with during trial, so it speaks to the proceeding. It does not reach into hallway conversation or contact after the case ends.
Contact with a juror about a case the juror was sworn to try is governed separately by UTCR 3.120.