Code of Alabama
Ala. Code § 12-16-11 (2026)
Charge of Court to Jury Generally.
✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
The court may state to the jury the law of the case and may also state the evidence when the same is disputed, but shall not charge upon the effect of the testimony, unless required to do so by one of the parties.
(Code 1852, §2274; Code 1867, §2678; Code 1876, §3028; Code 1886, §2754; Code 1896, §3326; Code 1907, §5362; Code1923, §9507; Code 1940, T. 7, §270.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1981–2026 · leading case: Ex Parte Allen, 414 So. 2d 993 (Ala. 1982).
Ex Parte Allen, 414 So. 2d 993 (Ala. 1982). “" Under this rule the ordinary procedure should be that the jury will not take with it a copy of the charges against the defendant; nevertheless, the rule recognizes that in a complex case having a copy may help the jury to understand and determine the issues.”
Knighten v. State, 402 So. 2d 363 (Ala. Crim. App. 1981). “602 (1941), as being "a clear violation" of what is now Section 12-16-11, Alabama Code 1975, in that it invaded the province of the jury because it stated that there was no evidence of certain facts.”
Walker v. State, 519 So. 2d 598 (Ala. Crim. App. 1987). “Alabama Code 1975, § 12-16-11. However, “ ‘it is not improper comment on the evidence for the judge to explain his ruling on a matter of law, and he may refer to testimony and state its legal effect, in deciding a point raised during the trial.”
Dixon v. State, 448 So. 2d 457 (Ala. Crim. App. 1984). “Section 12-16-11, Code of Alabama 1975, provides that a judge shall not charge upon the effect of a witness’s testimony.”
Ex Parte Nelson, 595 So. 2d 510 (Ala. 1991). “' § 12-16-11, Code of Alabama 1975." 520 So.”
Jammie LaJoyce Hughes v. State of Alabama (Ala. Crim. App. 2026). “§ 12-16-11, Ala. Code 1975 ('[t]he court may state to the jury the law of the case and may also state the evidence when the same is undisputed, but shall not charge upon the effect of the testimony, unless required to do so by one of the parties'); Rule 21.”
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