§3733 Assignment of Errors—(rule)

Summary

You must raise a clear, specific objection in court at the time of trial if you want to complain about jury instructions later on appeal. Courts no longer let people just “assign errors” on appeal without first giving the trial judge a chance to correct the problem. To preserve a challenge to the jury instructions, you must say exactly what part is wrong and why, or offer the exact instruction you wanted. Vague or late complaints won’t usually be allowed on appeal.