Rule 48.Order of Trial Proceedings—Management of Juries.

Last amended October 15, 2001 · Last verified July 6, 2026

In one sentenceRule 48 sets the mechanics of running a jury trial after Rule 46's order of proceedings takes over — how the court charges the jury, keeps it together, handles a juror who can't continue, and manages deliberations through to a verdict.

Full Text of Rule 48

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h)

(a) Conduct of Trial. Conduct of a jury trial shall be governed by Rule 46 and this rule.

(b) Instructions—Argument—Retirement of Jury. When argument of counsel is concluded or waived, the court shall then charge the jury. Such charge shall be reduced to writing and read to the jury. The jury must take the written charge with it to the jury room.

(c) View of Premises by Jury. When the court deems proper, it may order a proper officer to conduct the jury in a body to view the property which is the subject of the litigation or the place where a material fact occurred and to show such property or place to it. While the jury is making its inspection no one shall speak to it on any subject connected with the trial. The court may order the person applying for a jury view to pay the expenses connected therewith.

(d) Separation of Jury—Admonition—Manner of Keeping Jury Before Submission of Case. If any juror is permitted to separate from the jury during the trial the juror must be admonished by the court that it is the juror’s duty not to converse with any person, including another juror, on any subject connected with the trial, nor to form or express any opinion thereon until the case is finally submitted to the jury. If any juror is permitted to separate from the jury after the case is submitted the juror must be admonished by the court that it is the juror’s duty not to converse with any person on any subject connected with the trial, and that the juror is to discuss the case only with other jurors in the jury room.

(e) Juror Unable to Continue. If, prior to the time the jury retires to consider its verdict, a juror is unable or disqualified to perform the juror’s duty, the court may order the juror to be discharged. If an alternate juror has not been impaneled as provided in the rules, the trial may proceed with the other jurors with the consent of the parties, or another juror may be sworn and the trial may begin anew; or the jury may be discharged and a new jury then or afterwards formed.

(f) Jury—Deliberation—Communications. After hearing the charge the jury shall retire for deliberation. No persons other than the jurors and any interpreter necessary to assist a juror who is hearing or speech impaired shall be present while the jury is deliberating or voting. The jury shall be and remain under the charge of an officer until it agrees upon its verdict or is discharged by the court. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the officer having charge of the jury must keep the jury together, separate from other persons; and the officer must not suffer any communication to be made to it, nor make any except to ask it if it has agreed upon its verdict, and the officer must not, before the verdict is rendered, communicate to any person the state of its deliberations or the verdict agreed upon. Such officer shall be sworn to act according to the provisions of this section.

(g) Items Which May Be Taken Into the Jury Room. Upon retiring for deliberation the jury shall take with it any exhibits, except depositions, that have been introduced into evidence which the court deems proper.

(h) Discharge of Jury Before Verdict. Except as may be provided in these rules or as the interest of justice may require, the jury shall not be discharged after the cause is submitted to them until they have agreed upon a verdict and given it in open court, except:

(1) By the consent of all parties entered in the record.

(2) At the expiration of such period as the court deems proper if it appears that there is no probability of an agreement being arrived at among the jurors necessary to return a verdict.

(i) Retrial in the Event of Discharge Without Verdict. In all cases where the jury is discharged without having given a verdict, or is prevented from giving a verdict by reason of accident or other cause during the progress of the trial, or after the cause is submitted to it, the action may be again tried immediately, or at a future time, as the court directs.

(j) Adjournment During Absence of Jury. While the jury is absent the court may adjourn from time to time, in respect to other business, but it is nevertheless open for every purpose connected with the cause submitted to the jury until a verdict is rendered or the jury discharged.

End

Amendment History

(Adopted by SCO 5 October 9, 1959; amended by SCO 49 effective January 1, 1963; by SCO 1153 effective July 15, 1994; and by SCO 1439 effective October 15, 2001)

Plain-English Summary

Once argument ends, the court reduces its jury charge to writing, reads it to the jury, and sends the written charge with the jury into the deliberation room. If it's useful, the court can send the jury, under an officer's escort, to view the property or place at issue in the case, with no one allowed to discuss the case with the jurors during that inspection and the requesting party potentially on the hook for the cost. Any juror allowed to step away from the group during the trial has to be warned not to discuss the case with anyone, including other jurors, or to form or share an opinion about it until deliberations begin; a juror who steps away after the case is submitted gets the same warning but may discuss the case only with fellow jurors once back in the jury room. If a juror becomes unable to serve before the jury retires, the court can discharge that juror and, absent an alternate, either continue with the remaining jurors if the parties agree, swear in a replacement and start the trial over, or discharge the whole jury and empanel a new one.

Once the jury retires, only the jurors themselves (and an interpreter if one is needed) may be present during deliberation or voting, and an officer keeps custody of the jury until it reaches a verdict or is discharged — required to keep the jury together and apart from everyone else, to pass along nothing except a question about whether a verdict has been reached, and to say nothing about the state of deliberations or the verdict before it's announced. The jury takes with it any admitted exhibits the court thinks appropriate, except depositions, and generally isn't discharged after the case is submitted until it delivers a verdict in open court — the exceptions being an agreement by all parties or the court's own conclusion, after enough time has passed, that the jury won't reach one. If the jury is discharged without a verdict, or is prevented from returning one, the case can be tried again right away or later, as the court directs, and the court may still adjourn for other business while the jury is out without losing its authority over the case until a verdict comes in or the jury is discharged.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens after closing arguments in an Alaska jury trial?

The court reduces its instructions to writing, reads them to the jury, and the jury takes the written instructions into the deliberation room.

Can jurors go home during a multi-day trial?

A juror allowed to separate from the group must be warned not to discuss the case with anyone, including other jurors, or to form an opinion about it until deliberations begin.

What happens if a juror can't continue partway through trial?

The court can discharge that juror and, if no alternate is available, either proceed with the remaining jurors by agreement of the parties, swear in a replacement and restart the trial, or discharge the jury and empanel a new one.

Source & verification. The rule text, Amendment History, and Notes are reproduced verbatim from the official Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure (Alaska R. Civ. P. 48). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Alaska (Alaska Const. art. IV, § 15). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 6, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: jury deliberation Alaska civil trialjury instructions Alaska rulejuror unable to serve Alaskajury view of premises AlaskaAlaska R. Civ. P. 48