Jury Trial

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FRCP 38

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Right to a Jury Trial; Demand
(a) Right Preserved.
The right of trial by jury as declared by the Seventh Amendment to the Constitution--or as provided by a federal statute--is preserved to the parties inviolate.
 
(b) Demand.
On any issue triable of right by a jury, a party may demand a jury trial by:
   (1) serving the other parties with a written demand--which may be included in a pleading--no later than 14 days after the last pleading directed to the issue is served; and
   (2) filing the demand in accordance with Rule 5(d).
 
(c) Specifying Issues.
In its demand, a party may specify the issues that it wishes to have tried by a jury; otherwise, it is considered to have demanded a jury trial on all the issues so triable. If the party has demanded a jury trial on only some issues, any other party may--within 14 days after being served with the demand or within a shorter time ordered by the court--serve a demand for a jury trial on any other or all factual issues triable by jury.
 
(d) Waiver; Withdrawal.
A party waives a jury trial unless its demand is properly served and filed. A proper demand may be withdrawn only if the parties consent.

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FRCP 39

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Trial by Jury or by the Court
(a) When a Demand Is Made. When a jury trial has been demanded under Rule 38, the action must be designated on the docket as a jury action. The trial on all issues so demanded must be by jury unless:
   (1) the parties or their attorneys file a stipulation to a nonjury trial or so stipulate on the record; or
   (2) the court, on motion or on its own, finds that on some or all of those issues there is no federal right to a jury trial.
 
(b) When No Demand Is Made. Issues on which a jury trial is not properly demanded are to be tried by the court. But the court may, on motion, order a jury trial on any issue for which a jury might have been demanded.
 
(c) Advisory Jury; Jury Trial by Consent. In an action not triable of right by a jury, the court, on motion or on its own:
   (1) may try any issue with an advisory jury; or
   (2) may, with the parties' consent, try any issue by a jury whose verdict has the same effect as if a jury trial had been a matter of right, unless the action is against the United States and a federal statute provides for a nonjury trial.

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FRCP 47

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Selecting Jurors
(a) Examining Jurors. The court may permit the parties or their attorneys to examine prospective jurors or may itself do so. If the court examines the jurors, it must permit the parties or their attorneys to make any further inquiry it considers proper, or must itself ask any of their additional questions it considers proper.
 
(b) Peremptory Challenges. The court must allow the number of peremptory challenges provided by 28 U.S.C. § 1870.
 
(c) Excusing a Juror. During trial or deliberation, the court may excuse a juror for good cause.

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FRCP 48

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Number of Jurors; Verdict
(a) Number of Jurors. A jury must begin with at least 6 and no more than 12 members, and each juror must participate in the verdict unless excused under Rule 47(c).
 
(b) Verdict. Unless the parties stipulate otherwise, the verdict must be unanimous and must be returned by a jury of at least 6 members.
 
(c) Polling. After a verdict is returned but before the jury is discharged, the court must on a party's request, or may on its own, poll the jurors individually. If the poll reveals a lack of unanimity or lack of assent by the number of jurors that the parties stipulated to, the court may direct the jury to deliberate further or may order a new trial.

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FRCP 49

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(a) Special Verdict.
   (1) In General. The court may require a jury to return only a special verdict in the form of a special written finding on each issue of fact. The court may do so by:
      (A) submitting written questions susceptible of a categorical or other brief answer;
      (B) submitting written forms of the special findings that might properly be made under the pleadings and evidence; or
      (C) using any other method that the court considers appropriate.
   (2) Instructions. The court must give the instructions and explanations necessary to enable the jury to make its findings on each submitted issue.
   (3) Issues Not Submitted. A party waives the right to a jury trial on any issue of fact raised by the pleadings or evidence but not submitted to the jury unless, before the jury retires, the party demands its submission to the jury. If the party does not demand submission, the court may make a finding on the issue. If the court makes no finding, it is considered to have made a finding consistent with its judgment on the special verdict.
 
(b) General Verdict with Answers to Written Questions.
   (1) In General. The court may submit to the jury forms for a general verdict, together with written questions on one or more issues of fact that the jury must decide. The court must give the instructions and explanations necessary to enable the jury to render a general verdict and answer the questions in writing, and must direct the jury to do both.
   (2) Verdict and Answers Consistent. When the general verdict and the answers are consistent, the court must approve, for entry under Rule 58, an appropriate judgment on the verdict and answers.
   (3) Answers Inconsistent with the Verdict. When the answers are consistent with each other but one or more is inconsistent with the general verdict, the court may:
      (A) approve, for entry under Rule 58, an appropriate judgment according to the answers, notwithstanding the general verdict;
      (B) direct the jury to further consider its answers and verdict; or
      (C) order a new trial.
   (4) Answers Inconsistent with Each Other and the Verdict. When the answers are inconsistent with each other and one or more is also inconsistent with the general verdict, judgment must not be entered; instead, the court must direct the jury to further consider its answers and verdict, or must order a new trial.

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FRCP 51

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(a) Requests.
   (1) Before or at the Close of the Evidence. At the close of the evidence or at any earlier reasonable time that the court orders, a party may file and furnish to every other party written requests for the jury instructions it wants the court to give.
   (2) After the Close of the Evidence. After the close of the evidence, a party may:
      (A) file requests for instructions on issues that could not reasonably have been anticipated by an earlier time that the court set for requests; and
      (B) with the court's permission, file untimely requests for instructions on any issue.
 
(b) Instructions. The court:
   (1) must inform the parties of its proposed instructions and proposed action on the requests before instructing the jury and before final jury arguments;
   (2) must give the parties an opportunity to object on the record and out of the jury's hearing before the instructions and arguments are delivered; and
   (3) may instruct the jury at any time before the jury is discharged.
 
(c) Objections.
   (1) How to Make. A party who objects to an instruction or the failure to give an instruction must do so on the record, stating distinctly the matter objected to and the grounds for the objection.
   (2) When to Make. An objection is timely if:
      (A) a party objects at the opportunity provided under Rule 51(b)(2); or
      (B) a party was not informed of an instruction or action on a request before that opportunity to object, and the party objects promptly after learning that the instruction or request will be, or has been, given or refused.
 
(d) Assigning Error; Plain Error.
   (1) Assigning Error. A party may assign as error:
      (A) an error in an instruction actually given, if that party properly objected; or
      (B) a failure to give an instruction, if that party properly requested it and--unless the court rejected the request in a definitive ruling on the record--also properly objected.
   (2) Plain Error. A court may consider a plain error in the instructions that has not been preserved as required by Rule 51(d)(1) if the error affects substantial rights.