Rule 277.Submission to the Jury
Last amended May 1, 2020 · Last verified June 28, 2026
Full Text of Rule 277
Notes and Comments
Comment to 1988 change: The amendment to paragraph one of Rule 277 would unify the practice of submitting broad form questions to the jury in the form approved by Lemos v. Montez, 680 S.W.2d 798 (Tex. 1984).
Comment to 2020 change: Rule 277 is revised to require a jury question on each individual statutory ground for termination as to each parent and each child without requiring further granulated questions for subparts of an individual ground for termination. Rule 277 is also revised to require a separate question on best interest of the child as to each parent and each child that is predicated on an affirmative answer to at least one termination-ground question. The revisions supersede Texas Department of Human Services v. E.B., 802 S.W.2d 647 (Tex. 1990).
Plain-English Summary
Rule 277 is the heart of how a case goes to the jury. In all jury cases the court must, whenever feasible, submit the cause on broad-form questions, with whatever instructions and definitions are proper to let the jury reach a verdict. Inferential-rebuttal questions are not submitted; the court may place the burden of proof by instruction rather than build it into the question itself.
The rule then handles specific situations. In a case requiring the jury to apportion the loss, the court submits percentage-of-responsibility questions and instructs the jury to answer the damages question without reducing it for the injured person's own share. In a suit to terminate the parent-child relationship, the court submits separate questions for each parent and each child on each statutory ground and on best interest, with the best-interest question predicated on at least one ground finding — a 2020 revision. The court may submit a question disjunctively where the evidence shows one or the other fact must exist.
Finally, the charge must not comment directly on the weight of the evidence or tell the jury the effect of its answers, though an incidental comment within a proper instruction or definition is not objectionable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is broad-form submission in Texas?
It is submitting a case to the jury through broad questions rather than many granulated ones. Rule 277 requires broad-form submission whenever feasible.
Can a Texas jury charge comment on the weight of the evidence?
No. Rule 277 bars the charge from directly commenting on the weight of the evidence or advising the jury of the effect of its answers, though an incidental comment within a proper instruction is allowed.
How are parent-child termination questions submitted to the jury?
Under Rule 277, as revised in 2020, the court submits separate questions for each parent and each child on each statutory ground and on best interest, with best interest predicated on at least one affirmative ground finding.