Rule 43.02 - Order of proceeding in trialWhen the jury has been sworn, the trial shall proceed in the following order, unless the court, for special reasons otherwise directs:
(a) The plaintiff must briefly state his claim and the evidence by which he expects to sustain it.(b) The defendant must then briefly state his defense and the evidence he expects to offer in support of it.(c) The party on whom rests the burden of proof in the whole action must first produce his evidence; the adverse party will then produce his evidence. The party who begins the case must ordinarily exhaust his evidence before the other begins. But the order of proof shall be regulated by the court so as to expedite the trial and enable the tribunal to obtain a clear view of the whole evidence.(d) The parties will then be confined to rebutting evidence, unless the court, for good reasons in furtherance of justice, permits them to offer evidence in chief.(e) The parties may submit or argue the case to the jury. In the argument, the party having the burden of proof shall have the conclusion and the adverse party the opening. If there be more than one speech on either side, or if several defendants having separate defenses appear by different counsel, the court shall arrange the relative order of argument. Amended eff. 1/1/1978; adopted eff. 7/1/1953