R. 1:8-1 New Jersey Rules of Court, R. 1:8-1: Trial by Jury, rendered as code with every cross-reference linked

rule 1:8-1 "Trial by Jury" {
(a) Criminal Actions. Criminal actions required to be tried by a jury shall be so tried unless the defendant, in writing and with the approval of the court, after notice to the prosecuting attorney and an opportunity to be heard, waives a jury trial.
(b) Civil Actions. Issues in civil actions triable of right by a jury shall be so tried only if a jury trial is demanded by a party in accordance with R. 4:35-1 or R. 6:5-3, as applicable, and is not thereafter waived. If a jury of twelve is requested, that request shall be included in the jury demand.
Note: Source — R.R. 3:7-1(a), 4:40-3; paragraph (a) amended September 28, 1982 to be effective immediately; paragraph (a) amended July 13, 1994 to be effective September 1, 1994; captions added to paragraphs (a) and (b) and paragraph (b) amended July 10, 1998 to be effective September 1, 1998; paragraph (a) amended July 27, 2018 to be effective September 1, 2018.
}
referenced_by: 1:8-2, 2:11-1, 3:1-5, 5:1-2
source: njcourts.gov // verbatim; changed 2025-09-23; corpus harvested 2026-09-02