§ Rule 39 Trial by Jury or by the Court

Rule 39. 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.