§ Rule 39.03 Preliminary Instructions in Jury Trials

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Rule 39.03. Preliminary Instructions in Jury Trials

    After the jury has been impaneled and sworn, and before opening statements of counsel, the court may instruct the jury as to the respective claims of the parties and as to such other matters as will aid the jury in comprehending the trial procedure and sequence to be followed. Preliminary instructions may also embrace such matters as burden of proof and preponderance of evidence, the elements which the jury may consider in weighing testimony or determining credibility of witnesses, rules applicable to opinion evidence, and such other rules of law as the court may deem essential to the proper understanding of the evidence.