Order of trial; statement of case; presentation of evidence; arguments of counsel; instructions
Ind. Code § 35-37-2-2
in effectSec. 2. 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.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/35Fetched: 10/17/2026