Rule 30 — Jury Instructions

Fed. R. Crim. P. 30

• Source: Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
• Rule: 30
• TITLE VI: TRIAL
• Citation: Fed. R. Crim. P. 30

Text

(a) In General. Any party may request in writing that the court
instruct the jury on the law as specified in the request. The re-
quest must be made at the close of the evidence or at any earlier
time that the court reasonably sets. When the request is made,
the requesting party must furnish a copy to every other party.

(b) Ruling on a Request. The court must inform the parties be-
fore closing arguments how it intends to rule on the requested in-
structions.
(c) Time for Giving Instructions. The court may instruct the jury
before or after the arguments are completed, or at both times.
(d) Objections to Instructions. A party who objects to any por-
tion of the instructions or to a failure to give a requested instruc-
tion must inform the court of the specific objection and the
grounds for the objection before the jury retires to deliberate. An
opportunity must be given to object out of the jury’s hearing and,
on request, out of the jury’s presence. Failure to object in accord-
ance with this rule precludes appellate review, except as per-
mitted under Rule 52(b).

Advisory Committee Notes

(As amended Feb. 28, 1966, eff. July 1, 1966; Mar. 9, 1987, eff. Aug. 1, 1987; Apr. 25, 1988, eff. Aug. 1, 1988; Apr. 29, 2002, eff. Dec. 1, 2002.)