Rule 6.070.Jury Instructions
Current through August 1, 2026 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 6.070
Plain-English Summary
One sentence, one job. An instruction submitted to the court should read as a statement of the law and nothing else. No identifying information relating to the parties, and no other extraneous material, may appear on it. The rule names authorities as an example of what counts as extraneous, which tells you how broadly to read the phrase.
In practice that removes three familiar things: headers announcing whose instruction it is, citations set underneath the text, and any label that would tell a reader which side asked for it. What is left is the instruction's own language.
This sits alongside the requirements for a requested instruction. UTCR 6.060(4) puts a party designation on each page of a requested instruction and a statement of authority below it, while this rule keeps both off a submitted instruction. The rules do not say how to square that, so ask the trial judge what the judge's copy should look like.
Frequently Asked Questions
What has to come off a submitted jury instruction?
Anything identifying the parties, and any other extraneous material. The rule specifically sweeps in authorities, so the case or statute citation you relied on comes off along with party labels and headers.
Can I cite the case or statute that supports my instruction on the instruction itself?
No. Authorities are named in the rule as extraneous material that shall not appear on submitted jury instructions. Keep the citation with the request rather than on the instruction.
Can the parties' names appear in the text of an instruction?
The rule bars information that identifies the parties from appearing on submitted jury instructions. Read it as a bar on party identification, and where an instruction needs to refer to a litigant, use the neutral role words the instruction itself supplies.
Does this mean I prepare two versions of every instruction?
Often, yes. The request a party files carries a party designation and a statement of supporting authority. The instruction submitted under this rule carries neither. Building the clean set as you draft the annotated one is easier than stripping it under trial pressure.
Does this rule cover the instructions the judge reads to the jury?
Its text stops at instructions submitted to the court. The rule says nothing about how the court delivers instructions to the jury, so take it as a requirement for what you hand up rather than for what the judge reads out.