Here is the text we could read:
mandatory ones do, but have one other
important aspect—all parties must waive their
rights to appeal. In order to help keep down the
costs of litigation, there are no appeals following
a voluntary expedited jury trial except in very
limited circumstances. These are explained more
fully in . .
9
Will the case be in front of a judge?
he trial will take place at a courthouse and a judge, or,
if you agree, a temporary judge (a court commissioner or
an experienced attorney that the court appoints to act as
a judge) will handle the trial.
o. Just as in a traditional civil jury trial, only three-
quarters of the jury must agree in order to reach a
decision in an expedited jury trial. With 8 people on the
jury, that means that at least 6 of the jurors must agree
on the verdict in an expedited jury trial.
Is the decision of the jury binding
on the parties?
enerally, yes, but not always. A verdict from a jury in
an expedited jury trial is like a verdict in a traditional
jury trial. The court will enter a judgment based on the
verdict, the jury’s decision that one or more defendants
will pay money to the plaintiff or that the plaintiff gets
no money at all.
But parties in an expedited jury trial, like in other kinds
of trials, are allowed to make an agreement before the
trial that guarantees that the defendant will pay a certain
amount to the plaintiff even if the jury decides on a
lower payment or no payment. That agreement may also
put a cap on the highest amount that a defendant has to
pay, even if the jury decides on a higher amount. These
agreements are known as “high/low agreements.” You
should discuss with your attorney whether you should
enter into such an agreement in your case and how it will
affect you.
How else is an expedited jury trial
different?
he goal of the expedited jury trial process is to have
shorter and less expensive trials.
The cases that come within the mandatory expedited
jury trial procedures are all limited civil actions, and
they must proceed under the limited discovery and
6
T
Does the jury have to reach a
unanimous decision?
3
T
4
N
5
G
his information sheet is for anyone involved in a civil
lawsuit who will be taking part in an expedited jury
trial—a trial that is shorter and has a smaller jury than a
traditional jury trial.
ou can find the law and rules governing expedited
jury trials in Code of Civil Procedure sections
630.01–630.29 and in rules 3.1545–3.1553 of the
California Rules of Court. You can find these at any
county law library or online. The statutes are online
at http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes.xhtml.
The rules are at www.courts.ca.gov/rules.
1
What is an expedited jury trial?
n expedited jury trial is a short trial, generally lasting
only one or two days. It is intended to be quicker and
less expensive than a traditional jury trial.
As in a traditional jury trial, a jury will hear your case
and will reach a decision about whether one side has to
pay money to the other side. An expedited jury trial
differs from a regular jury trial in several important
ways:
The trial will be shorter. Each side has 5 hours to
pick a jury, put on all its witnesses, show the jury
its evidence, and argue its case.
The jury will be smaller. There will be 8 jurors
instead of 12.
Choosing the jury will be faster. The parties will
exercise fewer challenges.
What cases have expedited jury trials?
Mandatory expedited jury trials. All limited civil
cases—cases where the demand for damages or the
value of property at issue is $25,000 or less—come
within the mandatory expedited jury trial
procedures. These can be found in the Code of
Civil Procedure, starting at section 630.20. Unless
your case is an unlawful detainer (eviction) action,
or meets one of the exceptions set out in the statute,
it will be within the expedited jury trial procedures.
These exceptions are explained more in below.
Voluntary expedited jury trials. If your civil
case is not a limited civil case, or even if it is,
you can choose to take part in a voluntary
expedited jury trial, if all the parties agree to do
so. Voluntary expedited jury trials have the same
shorter time frame and smaller jury that the
7
T
Y
A
2
EJT-001-INFO
Expedited Jury Trial Information Sheet
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Judicial Council of California, www.courts.ca.gov
Revised July 1, 2016, Mandatory Form
Code of Civil Procedure, § 630.01–630.10
Cal. Rules of Court, rules 3.1545–3.1553
Expedited Jury Trial Information Sheet
EJT-001-INFO, Page 1 of 2
EJT-001-INFO
xpedited Jury Trial Information Sheet
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
E
document called [Proposed] Consent Order for
Voluntary Expedited Jury Trial, which will be submitted
to the court for approval. (Form EJT-020 may be used
for this.) The court must issue the consent order as
proposed by the parties unless the court finds good cause
why the action should not proceed through the expedited
jury trial process.
Why do I give up most of my rights
to an appeal in a voluntary
expedited jury trial?
o keep costs down and provide a faster end to the case,
all parties who agree to take part in a voluntary
expedited jury trial must agree to waive the right to
appeal the jury verdict or decisions by the judicial officer
concerning the trial unless one of the following happens:
Misconduct of the judicial officer that materially
affected substantial rights of a party;
Misconduct of the jury; or
Corruption or fraud or some other bad act
that prevented a fair trial.
In addition, parties may not ask the judge to set the jury
verdict aside, except on those same grounds. Neither you
nor the other side will be able to ask for a new trial on
the grounds that the jury verdict was too high or too low,
that legal mistakes were made before or during the trial,
or that new evidence was found later.
9
T
Can I change my mind after agreeing
to a voluntary expedited jury trial?
o, unless the other side or the court agrees. Once you
and the other side have agreed to take part in a voluntary
expedited jury trial, that agreement is binding on both
sides. It can be changed only if both sides want to
change it or stop the process or if a court decides there
are good reasons the voluntary expedited jury trial
should not be used in the case. This is why it is
important to talk to your attorney before agreeing to a
voluntary expedited jury trial. This information sheet
does not cover everything you may need to know about
voluntary expedited jury trials. It only gives you an
overview of the process and how it may affect your
rights. You should discuss all the points covered here
and any questions you have about expedited jury
trials with an attorney before agreeing to a voluntary
expedited jury trial.
N
10
pretrial rules that apply to those actions. See Code of
Civil Procedure sections 90–100.
The voluntary expedited jury trial rules set up some
special procedures to help those cases have shorter
and less expensive trials. For example, the rules
require that several weeks before the trial takes
place, the parties show each other all exhibits and
tell each other what witnesses will be at the trial. In
addition, the judge will meet with the attorneys
before the trial to work out some things in advance.
The other big difference is that the parties in either kind
of expedited jury trial can make agreements about how
the case will be tried so that it can be tried quickly and
effectively. These agreements may include what rules
will apply to the case, how many witnesses can testify
for each side, what kind of evidence may be used, and
what facts the parties already agree to and so do not need
the jury to decide. The parties can agree to modify many
of the rules that apply to trials generally or to any
pretrial aspect of the expedited jury trials.
Do I have to have an expedited jury
trial if my case is for $25,000 or less?
ot always. There are some exceptions.
7
N
The mandatory expedited jury trial procedures do
not apply to any unlawful detainer or eviction case.
Any party may ask to opt out of the procedures if the
case meets any of the criteria set out in Code of Civil
Procedure section 630.20(b), all of which are also
described in item 2 of the Request to Opt Out of
Mandatory Expedited Jury Trial (form EJT-003).
Any request to opt out must be made on that form,
and it must be made within a certain time period, as
set out in Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1546(c). Any
opposition must be filed within 15 days after the
request has been served.
The remainder of this information sheet applies only to
voluntary expedited jury trials.
Who can take part in a voluntary
expedited jury trial?
he process can be used in any civil case that the parties
agree may be tried in one or two days. To have a
voluntary expedited jury trial, both sides must want one.
Each side must agree to all the rules described in ,
and to waive most appeal rights. The agreements
between the parties must be put into writing in a
1
8
T
_____________________________________________________________________________
Revised July 1, 2016
EJT-001-INFO, Page 2 of 2
Expedited Jury Trial Information Sheet
