TITLE SIX — TRIAL
Rule 27.1. Trial by Jury; Demand; Advisory Juries
Right Preserved Only Where Conferred by Law. The right of trial by jury is preserved only when explicitly demanded by law, as provided by Const. art. I, § 7. No law of this State presently confers a right of trial by jury in a civil action; the only petit jury for which the law of this State provides is the jury available to a defendant charged with treason under 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.111 and 131.306. Accordingly, every civil action shall be tried by the court without a jury, unless a statute of this State explicitly confers a right of trial by jury upon the issue to be tried, or unless the court orders trial with a jury under subdivision (6) or (7). This rule shall not be construed to create a right of trial by jury in a civil action.
Demand.
How Made. On an issue triable of right by a jury under a statute of this State, a party may demand a jury trial by filing a demand through the electronic filing system. The demand may be included in a pleading, in which case the pleading shall so state in its designation.
Contents. The demand shall identify the statute conferring the right and shall identify each issue upon which trial by jury is demanded.
Time. The demand shall be filed not later than seventy-two (72) hours after the last pleading directed to the issue is filed. The period runs continuously in Coordinated Universal Time from the moment the electronic filing system recorded that pleading as filed. The electronic filing system computes no deadline; the timeliness of a demand is raised by motion of a party or by the court on its own.
Service. The demand is served upon every other participant by the electronic filing system when it is accepted for filing. No separate transmission by the filer is required.
Specifying Issues. In its demand a party may specify the issues it wishes to have tried by a jury; otherwise the party is considered to have demanded trial by jury on all issues so triable. Where a party has demanded trial by jury on some issues only, any other party may, within forty-eight (48) hours after the demand is accepted for filing or within a shorter time the court orders, file a demand for trial by jury on any other or all issues triable of right by a jury.
Waiver; Withdrawal.
Waiver. A party waives trial by jury unless a demand is filed as this rule provides.
Withdrawal. A demand properly filed may be withdrawn only with the consent of every party who has appeared. Consent shall be stated in the proceeding communications or given by a stipulation filed through the electronic filing system.
Effect on the Record. The electronic filing system permits no filing to be amended or withdrawn. A withdrawal under paragraph (b) is effected by a separate filing; the demand remains upon the docket, and the withdrawal is noted by the Clerk.
Determination Whether a Right Exists. On motion or on its own, the court shall determine whether a statute of this State confers a right of trial by jury upon each issue for which a demand has been filed. Where no statute confers the right, the demand is of no effect, the action shall be tried by the court, and the court shall enter its determination upon the docket and state it in the proceeding communications. The determination does not preclude the court from proceeding under subdivision (6) or (7).
Advisory Jury. In an action not triable of right by a jury, the court, on motion or on its own, may try any issue with an advisory jury. The verdict of an advisory jury is advisory only and does not bind the court. Where an issue is tried with an advisory jury, the court shall nevertheless find the facts specially and state separately its conclusions of law as Rule 34 requires, and Rule 33(3) and not Rule 33(1) or Rule 33(2) governs a motion made at the close of the evidence.
Trial by Jury on Consent. In an action not triable of right by a jury, the court may, with the consent of every party, try any issue by a jury whose verdict has the same effect as if trial by jury had been a matter of right. Consent shall be stated in the proceeding communications by each party or by counsel of record for each party. Where the State of Ridgeway is a party, consent shall be given by the Attorney General or the Solicitor General appearing for the State.
Composition; Qualification; Challenges. Where a jury is impaneled under this rule:
the jury shall consist of six (6) persons;
each side shall be allowed three (3) peremptory challenges, and where there is more than one party on a side the court shall apportion the challenges among them;
a juror shall be a lawful resident of the State of Ridgeway with no court conviction on record;
a challenge for cause may be made on the ground that the juror lacks the qualification required by paragraph (c); that the juror is a party to the action, is related in interest to a party, or is an adverse party to a party in another action; that the juror has been a witness in the action; or that the juror is unable to render a verdict upon the evidence and the law; and
the court shall examine prospective jurors and may permit the parties to examine them, or may put to prospective jurors such further questions as the parties reasonably request.
These provisions conform civil practice to the standards fixed for juries by 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.113, 131.114, and 131.115, and do not enlarge the circumstances in which a jury may be impaneled.
Conduct of a Jury Trial.
Where Held. A jury trial is conducted in the proceeding communications. The court shall designate a separate channel for the jury’s deliberation, to which no party, attorney, witness, or member of the public shall have access.
Sequestration of the Jury. The court may direct that jurors refrain from communicating with any person concerning the action and from consulting any source of information outside the evidence, and shall so instruct them at the outset.
Matters Heard Outside the Hearing of the Jury. Where these rules or the Rules of Evidence require that a matter be heard outside the hearing of the jury, the court shall recess the jury from the proceeding communications, or shall conduct the matter in a channel to which the jurors do not have access, and shall state on the record that it has done so.
Juror Questions. Questions posed by jurors are governed by Rid. R. Evid. 614(4).
Juror as a Witness. The competency of a juror as a witness is governed by Rid. R. Evid. 606.
Instructions. At or after the close of the evidence a party may file requested instructions on the law. The court shall inform counsel of its proposed action upon the requests before closing arguments begin. At the conclusion of the arguments the court shall instruct the jury on the law of the case. A party who objects to an instruction, or to the failure to give a requested instruction, shall state the objection and its ground on the record before the jury retires; an objection so stated preserves the claim of error.
Verdict. The verdict of a jury impaneled under this rule shall be unanimous unless the parties stipulate otherwise on the record before the jury retires. The court shall receive the verdict in the proceeding communications, shall enter it upon the docket, and shall discharge the jury. Judgment is entered under Rule 40.
Relation to Other Rules. Where an action is tried to a jury impaneled under subdivision (7), Rule 33(1) and Rule 33(2) govern a motion for judgment as a matter of law, and Rule 35 governs a motion for a new trial. Where an issue is tried with an advisory jury under subdivision (6), or is tried to the court, Rule 33(3) and Rule 34 govern.