51.01 Requests for Instructions. At the close of the evidence or at such earlier time during the trial as the court reasonably directs, any party may file written requests that the court instruct the jury on the law as set forth in the requests. The court shall inform counsel of its proposed action upon the requests prior to their arguments to the jury. The court may, in its discretion, entertain requests for instructions at any time before the jury retires to consider its verdict.
Rule 51.Instructions to Jury: Objection
Last amended July 1, 2009 · Last verified July 2, 2026
In one sentenceRule 51 lets a party submit written requests for jury instructions, requires the court to give preliminary instructions right after the jury is sworn, gives the court discretion over whether to deliver the bulk of substantive instructions before or after closing argument, and preserves a party’s right to challenge an instruction — or a court’s refusal to give one — in a motion for a new trial even without objecting when the instruction was read.
Full Text of Rule 51
51.02 Objection -- Failure to Object. After the judge has instructed the jury, the parties shall be given opportunity to object, out of hearing of the jury, to the content of an instruction given or to failure to give a requested instruction, but failure to make objection shall not prejudice the right of a party to assign the basis of the objection as error in support of a motion for a new trial.
51.03 Timing.
1 At Beginning of Trial. Immediately after the jury is sworn, the court shall instruct the jury concerning its duties, its conduct, the order of proceedings, the general nature of the case, and the elementary legal principles that will govern the proceeding.
2 Before and After Closing Argument. Jury instructions on the applicable law may be given before closing argument, in the court's discretion. All or part of such instructions may be repeated after closing argument. Additional instructions concerning organizational and related matters also may be given after closing argument.
51.04 Written Form. If any party requests that the instructions given under Rule 51.03(2) be reduced to writing, or if the judge sua sponte elects to reduce the instructions to writing, the judge shall give the jury one or more copies of the written instructions, in their entirety, for use in the jury room during deliberations. After the deliberations are concluded, the written charge shall be returned to the judge.
Advisory Commission Comments
Advisory Commission Comments [2003].
The deleted language of Rule 51.01 delaying final jury instructions until after arguments to the jury has been replaced by the addition of Rule 51.03(2). New Rule 51.03 deals with the timing of jury instructions. Rule 51.03(1) requires the court to give basic instructions on procedures and law at the beginning of the trial. This requirement should better enable jurors to understand the evidence and apply the proof to the applicable law. With this background, jurors will be able to put the proof in the context of the legal rules involved in the dispute. Rule 51.03(2) provides the court the option of giving the bulk of the final jury instructions before closing argument. This procedure may improve the utility of counsel's closing argument by enabling the lawyers to make specific reference to the law at issue in the case. This option should greatly assist jurors in their efforts to apply the facts to the law. If such instructions are given before closing argument, the court should provide additional housekeeping instructions after that argument. The court may also repeat some of the substantive instructions already given before the closing argument.
Advisory Commission Comments [2009].
Revised Rule 51.04 gives any party the right to require the jury charge to be reduced to writing and given the jury. The new language incorporates T.C.A. § 20-9-501.
Amendment History
- Added by order filed January 31, 2003, effective July 1, 2003.
- amended by order filed January 8, 2009, effective July 1, 2009.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 51.01 lets any party file written requests asking the court to instruct the jury on specific points of law, either at the close of the evidence or at an earlier time the court sets. The court has to tell counsel how it intends to rule on those requests before closing arguments, though it retains discretion to entertain — and act on — instruction requests any time before the jury retires to deliberate.
Rule 51.02 sets Tennessee apart from federal practice on a fundamental point: after the judge instructs the jury, the parties get a chance to object outside the jury’s hearing, but failing to object at that moment does not cost a party the right to raise the same objection later in a motion for a new trial. The rule’s drafters concluded that requiring an on-the-spot objection to an orally delivered charge asks too much of trial counsel, who has no transcript to check the exact wording against. The tradeoff is that the objection still has to appear in a proper motion for a new trial — silence at the moment of instruction is forgiven, but silence altogether is not.
Rule 51.03 requires the court to instruct the jury on its duties, the order of proceedings, the general nature of the case, and the basic legal principles that will govern, immediately after the jury is sworn — before any evidence is taken. The court then has discretion over whether to deliver the bulk of the substantive legal instructions before closing argument, repeat some or all of them afterward, or handle housekeeping instructions separately once arguments conclude.
Rule 51.04 lets any party request that instructions given before closing argument be reduced to writing for the jury to take back to the jury room, or lets the judge do so without a request. Written copies go to the jury for use throughout deliberations and are returned to the judge once deliberations end.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to object to a jury instruction right when it is given to preserve the issue?
No. Rule 51.02 lets you raise the objection later in a motion for a new trial even without objecting at the moment the instruction was read — a deliberate departure from the federal rule, since Tennessee’s drafters thought it unfair to demand an instant objection to an orally delivered charge.
When does the court have to instruct the jury on the basics of the case?
Immediately after the jury is sworn, before any evidence is presented. Rule 51.03 requires preliminary instructions on the jury’s duties, the order of proceedings, and the case’s general nature at that point.
Can I get a written copy of the jury instructions?
Yes, if requested. Rule 51.04 lets any party request that instructions given before closing argument be reduced to writing for the jury’s use during deliberations, and lets the judge do so without a request as well.
Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Commission Comments are reproduced verbatim from the
official Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure (Tenn. R. Civ. P. 51). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Tennessee (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 16-3-402 to 16-3-407, 16-3-601). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 2, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: jury instructionsobjecting to jury chargewritten jury instructions
Advisory Commission Comments.
51.01: This Rule leaves the timing of the submission of requests to the discretion of the trial judge, and it eliminates the common-law rule that such requests may only be received at the conclusion of the general charge. Gilreath, History of a Lawsuit, § 368 (8th ed. 1963).
51.02: This Rule is the opposite of the Federal Rule insofar as requiring counsel to state objections to the charge at trial. The Committee felt that the Federal Rule places too great a burden on trial counsel and fails to take into account the difficulties of stating objections accurately after merely hearing a charge without opportunity to see a transcript of it. The Committee felt that the trial judge has the duty to charge the jury accurately, and the parties litigant should not be deprived of an opportunity to seek a new trial because of an inaccurate charge merely because counsel did not make an oral objection at the trial; such errors in the charge should be available as grounds for relief on motion for new trial or on appeal, subject to the rules regarding harmless error.