(a) Opening Statements.
Opening statements shall not be argumentative, and shall not exceed thirty minutes in
length, except by leave of court.
(b) Examination of Witnesses.
The examination of a particular witness, and objections relating to that examination, shall
be made by one attorney for each party, except by leave of court.
(c) Exhibits.
(1) Filing of Exhibits.
(A) Custody and Marking. All exhibits shall be marked for
identification prior to trial in accordance with the final pretrial order.
All exhibits offered in evidence, whether admitted or not, shall be
submitted in accordance with the Jury Evidence Recording System
(“JERS”) guidelines, shall be held in the custody of the clerk
during the pendency of the proceedings, except that exhibits which
because of their size or nature require special handling shall remain
in the possession of the party introducing them. Exhibits retained by
counsel shall be preserved in the form in which they were offered
until the proceeding is finally concluded. A party who offers
valuable exhibits shall be responsible for their insurance and
protection.
(B) Rejected Exhibits. Exhibits tendered but not admitted into evidence
shall be retained by the courtroom deputy clerk in the same manner
as admitted exhibits. Rejected exhibits shall be identified as having
been rejected on both the exhibit list and on the exhibits themselves.
(C) Withdrawn Exhibits. Exhibits that are either withdrawn or not
tendered shall not be retained by the courtroom deputyclerk, but shall
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be shown on the exhibit list as having been withdrawn or not
tendered.
(d) Inspection and Copying of Exhibits.
(1) Sensitive Exhibits. Sensitive and special criminal evidence may not be
inspected or copied without specific leave of the court. This evidence
includes, without limitation, narcotics, weapons, currency, exhibits of a
pornographic nature, articles of high monetary value, exhibits depicting or
describing a particular brutal crime, and any other evidence designated by
the court.
(2) Sealed Exhibits. Exhibits ordered sealed or impounded by the court may not
be inspected or copied by anyone, including attorneys for the parties, except
upon leave of the court.
(3) Other Exhibits. Attorneys of record for any party may inspect or copy
without specific leave of court all exhibits, other than those exhibits defined
in (1) and (2) above, which have been admitted into evidence or rejected.
(4) Presence of Clerk Required. All inspections of exhibits of any type covered
by this rule shall be conducted in the presence of the clerk or an authorized
deputy clerk. Inspections by attorneys for the parties are not excepted from
this rule nor is application of this rule affected by whether the inspection is
being made with or without leave of court.
(e) Return of Exhibits.
(1) Generally. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, or after expiration of the
appeal term, custody of all exhibits received into evidence, except those
defined as sensitive in Rule 123(e), shall be returned to the custody of the
filing party or his or her attorney upon the rendering of a verdict in a jury case
or upon the entry of a final order in a non-jury case. The clerk shall obtain a
receipt for the returned exhibits. Sensitive exhibits shall remain in the
custody of the arresting or investigating agency during the trial of the case
and for any appeal period after trial.
(2) Availability for Inspection or Appeal.
(A) The filing party or his or her attorney shall grant a reasonable request
for any party to examine an exhibit in his or her custody for use in the
proceeding.
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(B) Any exhibit in the custody of the filing party or his or her attorney
shall, upon request, be returned immediately to the clerk for appeal or
other purposes. The filing party or his or her attorney shall be
responsible for transporting heavy and bulky exhibits to the appellate
court.
(3) Chain of Custody. It shall be the responsibility of the filing party or his or
her attorney to document the chain of custody for each returned exhibit
during the time permitted for filing an appeal and during the pendency of an
appeal.
(4) Disposition of Unclaimed Exhibits. If exhibits are not removed as required
by this rule, the clerk shall notify the filing party or his or her attorney in
writing of the requirement to do so. If the exhibits are not removed within
thirty (30) days, the court shall authorize the clerk to destroy the exhibits or
to dispose of the exhibits by other means.
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