§ 136.310 Function of court; effect of judicial notice of a fact

This rule explains who decides legal questions during a criminal trial. The judge, not the jury, decides all legal issues. This includes whether evidence can be used in court, what conditions must be met before certain evidence is allowed, and how to interpret laws or documents. If lawyers want to argue about a legal point, they must direct those arguments to the judge, not the jury.

The rule also covers a specific situation called "judicial notice." Sometimes a law says that certain facts are automatically treated as true because the court officially recognizes them, without needing proof. When this happens, the judge tells the jury about this fact. The jury must accept it as true and cannot question it, except in certain limited situations described in a separate law (ORS 40.085).

In short, this rule keeps legal decisions in the judge's hands and keeps the jury focused on deciding facts based on the evidence presented. It also makes clear that when the law says something is automatically considered true, the jury must go along with that.