State v. Comen

At trial, and before any evidence was presented, appellant was informed by the trial court that the jury would be instructed on three separate occasions: before the opening statements of counsel, after the evidence was presented but before closing arguments, and after closing arguments. At that time, appellant did not object to the court’s splitting of instructions.

Following his announced procedure, the trial judge, before counsel’s opening statements, instructed the jury on its obligation to follow the law, the significance of objections, the function of the jury as a trier of fact, the role…