Rule 23.3 Additional Instructions; Further Review of Evidence Prohibited

Once the jury goes to a separate room to make their decision, they sometimes have questions about the law that applies to the case. If this happens, the judge will tell them to write down their question. The judge then shares that question with both sides in the case, lets them weigh in, and can decide to give the jury more written instructions to help answer it.

There's one thing the judge cannot do, though. Once the jury starts deliberating, the judge cannot bring them back into the courtroom to hear more evidence. All the evidence has to be presented before deliberations start. This keeps the process fair, so the jury bases its decision only on what was already presented at trial, not on anything added later.