29-2016. Trial; order of procedure.

After the jury has been impaneled and sworn, the trial shall proceed in the following order: (1) The counsel for the state must state the case of the prosecution and may briefly state the evidence by which he expects to sustain it; (2) the defendant or his counsel must then state his defense and may briefly state the evidence he expects to offer in support of it; (3) the state must first produce its evidence; the defendant will then produce his evidence; (4) the state will then be confined to rebutting evidence, unless the court for good reason in furtherance of justice, shall permit it to offer evidence in chief; (5) when the evidence is concluded, either party may request instructions to the jury on the points of law, which shall be given or refused by the court, which instructions shall be reduced to writing if either require it; (6) when the evidence is concluded, unless the case is submitted without argument, the counsel for the state shall commence, the defendant or his counsel follow, and the counsel for the state conclude the argument to the jury; (7) the court after the argument is concluded shall immediately and before proceeding with other business charge the jury, which charge or any charge given after the conclusion of the argument shall be reduced to writing by the court, if either party requests it before the argument to the jury is commenced; and such charge or charges or any other charge or instruction provided for in this section, when so written and given, shall in no case be orally qualified, modified or in any manner explained to the jury by the court; and all written charges and instructions shall be taken by the jury in their retirement and returned with their verdict into court, and shall remain on file with the papers of the case.

Source:G.S.1873, c. 58, § 478, p. 828; R.S.1913, § 9119; C.S.1922, § 10144; C.S.1929, § 29-2016; R.S.1943, § 29-2016.

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