Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 46-16-503 (2026)

Conduct Of Jury After Retirement -- Advice From Court

✓ current as of May 2026
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TITLE 46. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

CHAPTER 16. TRIAL

Part 5. Conduct of Jury

Conduct Of Jury After Retirement -- Advice From Court

46-16-503. Conduct of jury after retirement -- advice from court. (1) When the jury retires to consider its verdict, an officer of the court must be appointed to keep the jurors together and to prevent conversations between the jurors and others.

(2) After the jury has retired for deliberation, if there is any disagreement among the jurors as to the testimony or if the jurors desire to be informed on any point of law arising in the cause, they shall notify the officer appointed to keep them together, who shall then notify the court. The information requested may be given, in the discretion of the court, after consultation with the parties.

History: En. 95-1913 by Sec. 1, Ch. 196, L. 1967; R.C.M. 1947, 95-1913(b), (d); amd. Sec. 18, Ch. 116, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 207, Ch. 800, L. 1991.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 28 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1986–2023 · leading case: State v. Harris, 808 P.2d 453 (Mont. 1991).
State v. Harris, 808 P.2d 453 (Mont. 1991). · cites it 16× “Section 46-16-503(2), MCA. The statute provides: *460 After the jury has retired for deliberation, if there is any disagreement among the jurors as to the testimony or if the jurors desire to be informed on any point of law arising in the cause, they must require the officer to…”
State v. Steele, 2004 MT 275 (Mont. 2004). · cites it 18× “" Steele contends that the bailiff's directive constituted "an impermissible `Allen' charge.”
State v. Crawford, 2002 MT 117 (Mont. 2002). · cites it 14× “Moreover, we review a district court's decision to provide the jury with requested information pursuant to § 46-16-503(2), MCA, for abuse of discretion.”
State v. Mayes, 825 P.2d 1196 (Mont. 1992). · cites it 14× “Section 46-16-503(2), MCA, provides: After the jury has retired for deliberation, if there is any disagreement among the jurors as to the testimony or if the jurors desire to be informed on any point of law arising in the cause, they shall notify the officer appointed to keep…”
State v. Greene, 2015 MT 1 (Mont. 2015). · cites it 17× “Section 46-16-503(2), MCA; State v. Evans, 261 Mont.”
State v. Bales, 1999 MT 334 (Mont. 1999). · cites it 15× “¶18 We have previously considered the admission of testimonial evidence under § 46-16-503, MCA, which governs jury requests for information and provides in pertinent part: After the jury has retired for deliberation, if there is any disagreement among the jurors as to the…”
State v. Henrich, 886 P.2d 402 (Mont. 1994). · cites it 14× “Section 46-16-503(2), MCA, provides: After the jury has retired for deliberation, if there is any disagreement among the jurors as to the testimony or if the jurors desire to be informed on any point of law arising in the cause, they shall notify the officer appointed to keep…”
State v. Thompson, 2001 MT 119 (Mont. 2001). · cites it 14× “He contends that allowing the jury to hear NT's testimony after deliberations had began violates § 46-16-503, MCA. Section 46-16-503 provides: After the jury has retired for deliberation, if there is any disagreement among the jurors as to the testimony or if the jurors desire…”
State v. Bieber, 2007 MT 262 (Mont. 2007). · cites it 4× “As noted above, we review a court's jury instructions in a criminal case to determine *458 whether, as a whole, they fully and fairly instruct the jury on the law applicable to the case.”
State v. Grant, 717 P.2d 562 (Mont. 1986). · cites it 9× “Grant alleges that allowing the alternate into the jury room violates Section 46-16-501, MCA, which requires an officer of the court to prevent outside communication with the jurors during trial and Section 46-16-503(1), MCA, which requires an officer of the court “to keep the…”
State v. Stout, 2010 MT 137 (Mont. 2010). · cites it 4× “That rule applies both as to materials sent with the jury at the start of deliberations, and to requests from the jury to re-hear testimony during deliberations as provided in § 46-16-503(2), MCA. Bales , ¶ 23. A district court's decision under § 46-16-504, MCA, on evidence that…”
State v. Evans, 862 P.2d 417 (Mont. 1993). · cites it 9× “Section 46-16-503(2), MCA. In exercising its discretion, the district court should avoid giving undue emphasis to particular testimony.”
— Mont. Code Ann. § 46-16-503(1) — 2 cases
State v. Grant, 717 P.2d 562 (Mont. 1986). “Grant alleges that allowing the alternate into the jury room violates Section 46-16-501, MCA, which requires an officer of the court to prevent outside communication with the jurors during trial and Section 46-16-503(1), MCA, which requires an officer of the court “to keep the…”
State v. G. Green, 2022 MT 218 (Mont. 2022).
— Mont. Code Ann. § 46-16-503(2) — 24 cases
State v. Harris, 808 P.2d 453 (Mont. 1991). “Section 46-16-503(2), MCA. The statute provides: *460 After the jury has retired for deliberation, if there is any disagreement among the jurors as to the testimony or if the jurors desire to be informed on any point of law arising in the cause, they must require the officer to…”
State v. Steele, 2004 MT 275 (Mont. 2004). “" Steele contends that the bailiff's directive constituted "an impermissible `Allen' charge.”
State v. Crawford, 2002 MT 117 (Mont. 2002). “Moreover, we review a district court's decision to provide the jury with requested information pursuant to § 46-16-503(2), MCA, for abuse of discretion.”
State v. Mayes, 825 P.2d 1196 (Mont. 1992). “Section 46-16-503(2), MCA, provides: After the jury has retired for deliberation, if there is any disagreement among the jurors as to the testimony or if the jurors desire to be informed on any point of law arising in the cause, they shall notify the officer appointed to keep…”
State v. Greene, 2015 MT 1 (Mont. 2015). “Section 46-16-503(2), MCA; State v. Evans, 261 Mont.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.