RULE 30. INSTRUCTIONS

Obsolete Date: 3/1/2006

(a) Instructions to Jury; Written or Oral. Immediately after the jury is sworn, the court may instruct the jury concerning its duties, its conduct, the order of proceedings, and the elementary legal principles governing the proceeding. The court shall instruct the jury immediately before or after the arguments of counsel. The court shall instruct the jury only as to the law of the case. The instructions must be reduced to writing unless the parties otherwise agree. If written instructions are given they must be signed by the judge and must be taken by the jurors in their retirement. When oral instructions are given, they may not be taken by the jurors in retirement unless, after they have been transcribed, it is so ordered by the court. All instructions taken by the jurors in retirement must be returned into court with their verdict.

(b) Requested Instructions. At the close of the evidence or at an earlier time during the trial as the court reasonably directs, any party may file proposed jury instructions. The court may require each instruction to be written on a separate sheet, provided North Dakota pattern jury instructions may be requested by reference to instruction number only. The court shall inform counsel in writing of its action upon requested instructions prior to their argument to the jury. All instructions given by the court to the jurors must be read or given to them orally by the court without disclosing whether the instructions were requested.

(c) Exceptions to Instructions. The giving of instructions and the failure to instruct the jurors are deemed excepted to unless the court, before instructing the jurors, submits to counsel the written instructions it proposes to give to the jurors and asks for exceptions to be noted.Thereupon, counsel shall designate the parts or omissions counsel considers objectionable.Thereafter, only the parts or omissions so designated are deemed excepted to by the counsel designating the same. All proceedings connected with the taking of exceptions must be in the absence of the jurors and a reasonably sufficient time must be allowed counsel to take exceptions and to note them in the record of the proceedings.