Last amended December 1, 2007 · Last verified June 30, 2026
In one sentenceRule 47 governs jury selection: the court may examine prospective jurors or let the attorneys do so, the parties exercise the peremptory challenges the law allows, and the court may excuse a juror during trial or deliberation for good cause.
(a)Examining Jurors. The court may permit the parties or their attorneys to examine prospective jurors or may itself do so. If the court examines the jurors, it must permit the parties or their attorneys to make any further inquiry it considers proper, or must itself ask any of their additional questions it considers proper.
(b)Peremptory Challenges. The court must allow the number of peremptory challenges provided by 28 U.S.C. § 1870.
(c)Excusing a Juror. During trial or deliberation, the court may excuse a juror for good cause.
End
Amendment History
(Amended February 28, 1966, effective July 1, 1966; April 30, 1991, effective December 1, 1991; April 30, 2007, effective December 1, 2007.)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 47 sets the framework for picking a civil jury. The court may conduct the questioning of prospective jurors itself (voir dire), or it may let the parties’ attorneys do the questioning — and if the attorneys question, the court may add its own questions it thinks proper.
The rule recognizes the parties’ peremptory challenges — strikes that need no stated reason — though the number of peremptory challenges is fixed by statute rather than by the rule itself. Finally, Rule 47 lets the court excuse a juror for good cause at any time, including during deliberations, which dovetails with Rule 48’s rules on jury size and verdicts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is voir dire?
The questioning of prospective jurors to decide who will serve. Under Rule 47(a), the court may conduct it or allow the attorneys to, supplementing as it sees fit.
How many peremptory challenges does each side get?
Rule 47 recognizes peremptory challenges but does not set the number — that is fixed by statute (28 U.S.C. § 1870) for civil cases.
Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the
official Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Fed. R. Civ. P. 47), a public-domain work of the U.S. Government.
Prescribed by the United States Supreme Court under the Rules Enabling Act. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified June 30, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:FRCP 47Fed. R. Civ. P. 47selecting jurorsvoir direperemptory challengesexcusing a juror