Rule 24.3 Necessity for Forms of Verdict

When a jury gets instructions in a criminal case, the judge has to give them written verdict forms for each charge they're considering. This includes the main charge and any lesser charges that fit the evidence, like a less serious version of the crime or an attempt to commit it. These forms are what the jury actually fills out to say guilty or not guilty.

Because of this, a jury can only convict someone of a crime if they were given a verdict form for that specific crime. If no form was provided for a particular charge, the jury cannot find the defendant guilty of it, even if they think the evidence supports it.

If the jury comes back with a verdict that does not clearly answer the charges or does not match the forms they were given, the judge cannot just accept it. The judge has to send the jury back to keep deliberating until they get it right. The judge can only fix small formatting or technical problems with the verdict, and even that has to happen in open court with everyone present, including the jury.