a. Requested Jury Instructions. Requested instructions must be submitted in the following
form:
1. Caption. A title page must be attached showing the caption of the case and the name of
the submitting party.
2. Table of Contents. The requested instructions must be prefaced by a table of contents.
3. Numbering. Each requested instruction must be numbered and must commence on a
separate page.
4. Authorities. Any authorities in support of a requested instruction must be included at the
bottom of the page of the requested instruction.
5. Pattern Instructions. A party may request any pattern jury instruction prepared by or for
the Iowa courts or any federal court by citing to the instruction, and need not reproduce the
instruction in the request.
Examples of instructions used by the courts’ judges may be found on the courts’ websites.
The parties also are encouraged to submit requested jury instructions via email or other
electronic means in a compatible word processing format.
b. Jury Deliberations.
1. Availability During Deliberations. Until a verdict is reached, and the jury is discharged,
the lawyers and pro se parties must be readily available to the court. When the jury begins
to deliberate, each lawyer and pro se party must advise the court of where they can be
located in the courthouse, or if they intend to leave the courthouse, provide the court a
telephone number where they can be reached without delay.
2. Notification. If the jury has a question, or if some other issue arises during jury
deliberations, and the court determines the issue merits a conference with the parties, the
court will attempt to notify the lawyers and any pro se parties. If a lawyer or pro se party
is not available within 20 minutes, he or she will be deemed to have waived the right to
participate in the proceedings concerning the issue.
