Rule 30 Instructions

This rule explains how jury instructions work during a criminal trial. Jury instructions are the directions the judge gives the jury about what the law says, so they know how to decide the case. Either side in the case, the prosecution or the defense, can write out requests asking the judge to give specific instructions to the jury. When one side makes these requests, they have to give copies to the other side too. This has to happen by the end of the evidence part of the trial, though the judge can set an earlier deadline if needed.

Before the lawyers give their closing arguments, the judge has to tell them what instructions will actually be given to the jury. The judge has some flexibility here and can give the instructions to the jury before closing arguments, after them, or both. This gives the lawyers a chance to know what the judge decided so they can shape their arguments around it.

The rule also covers what happens if a lawyer disagrees with an instruction, or thinks the judge left something out. If a lawyer wants to challenge an instruction later, like on appeal, they must object at the time, before the jury goes to deliberate. They have to clearly say what they're objecting to and why. This gives the judge a chance to fix any mistakes right away instead of finding out about problems after the trial is over. The rule also says lawyers can make these objections away from the jury's hearing, and if they ask, the jury doesn't even need to be in the room when the objection is made.