Description
In many jurisdictions it is customary or obligatory, prior to the lawyers’ closing arguments, for the judge to confer with the prosecutor and defense counsel to determine what the jury will be charged (or to “settle the instructions,” as it is often called). See, e.g., United States v. Melhuish, 6 F.4th 380, 392 (2d Cir. 2021) (dictum) (“[w]e have ‘repeatedly held that defense counsel should be afforded the opportunity to review a proposed jury instruction’”). This may be done as a matter of routine, or counsel may have to request a conference if s/he wants one.
First Page
1819
Source Publication
Trial Manual 11 for the Defense of Criminal Cases
Source Editors/Authors
Anthony G. Amsterdam, Randy A. Hertz
Publication Date
2026
Document Type
Chapter
Edition
11
Rights & Restrictions
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Recommended Citation
Anthony G. Amsterdam & Randy A. Hertz,
Chapter 42 - Instructions to the Jury; Defense Requests to Charge,
Trial Manual 11 for the Defense of Criminal Cases
1819
(2026).
Available at:
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/tmdcc/48
