§ 35-37-2-2 — Order of trial; statement of case; presentation of evidence; arguments of counsel; instructions

After the jury is impaneled and sworn, the trial
shall proceed in the following order:
(1) The prosecuting attorney shall state the case of the prosecution
and briefly state the evidence by which he expects to support it,
and the defendant may then state his defense and briefly state the
evidence he expects to offer in support of his defense.
(2) The prosecuting attorney shall then offer the evidence in
support of the prosecution, and the defendant shall then offer the
evidence in support of his defense.
(3) The parties may then respectively offer rebutting evidence
only, unless the court, for good reason and in furtherance of
justice, permits them to offer evidence upon their original case.
(4) When the evidence is concluded the prosecuting attorney and
the defendant or his counsel may, by agreement in open court,
submit the case to the court or jury trying the case, without
argument. If the case is not submitted without argument, the
prosecuting attorney shall have the opening and closing of the
argument. However, the prosecuting attorney shall disclose in the
opening all the points relied on in the case, and if in the closing
he refers to any new point or fact not disclosed in the opening, the
defendant or his counsel may reply to that point or fact, and that
reply shall close the argument of the case. If the prosecuting
attorney refuses to open the argument, the defendant or his
counsel may then argue the case. If the defendant or his counsel
refuses to argue the case after the prosecuting attorney has made
his opening argument, that shall be the only argument allowed in
the case.
(5) The court shall then charge the jury. The judge shall:
(A) make the charge to the jury in writing;
(B) number each instruction; and
(C) sign the charge;
if, at any time before the commencement of the argument, he has
been requested to do so by the prosecuting attorney, the
defendant, or the defendant's counsel. In charging the jury, the
court must state to them all matters of law which are necessary for
their information in giving their verdict. The judge shall inform
the jury that they are the exclusive judges of all questions of fact,
and that they have a right, also, to determine the law. The court
may send the instructions to the jury room.
(6) If the prosecuting attorney, the defendant, or the defendant's
counsel desires special instructions to be given to the jury, these
instructions must be:
(A) reduced to writing;
(B) numbered;
(C) accompanied by an affixed cover sheet that refers to the
instructions by number and that is signed by the party, or his
attorney, who is requesting the special instructions; and
(D) delivered to the court;
before the commencement of the argument. A charge of the court
or any special instructions, when written and given by the court
under this subdivision, may not be orally qualified, modified, or
in any manner orally explained to the jury by the court. If final
instructions are submitted to the jury in written form after having
been read by the court, no indication of the party or parties
tendering any of the instructions may appear on any instruction.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.298, SEC.6. Amended by
P.L.315-1985, SEC.1.