The right of trial by jury as declared by the Constitution of the state or as given by a statute of the state shall be preserved to the parties inviolate.
§ 9-11-38.Right to jury trial
Chapter 11. Civil Practice Act · Article 6. Trials · Last amended 1966 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceThis section preserves, without diminishment, the right to a jury trial in civil cases as guaranteed by the Georgia Constitution or granted by state statute.
Full Text of § 9-11-38
Plain-English Summary
This is one of the shortest sections in the Civil Practice Act, and it does one job: it protects a right the Constitution or a statute already created, without creating any new right of its own. If the Georgia Constitution guarantees a jury for a given kind of case, or if some other statute grants a jury trial for a claim that has no historical common-law jury right, this section keeps courts and procedural rules from chipping away at either source of the right.
The word “inviolate” carries the weight here. A court can still manage how a jury trial happens — through the calendar rules in Code Section 9-11-40, jury-size stipulations in Code Section 9-11-47, or special verdict forms in Code Section 9-11-49 — but it cannot use procedure to defeat the underlying right itself.
This section also sets up the two sections that immediately follow it: Code Section 9-11-39 lets parties waive the jury right this section protects, and later sections in this article govern how a jury trial, once preserved or ordered, proceeds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this section create a right to a jury trial that didn’t already exist?
No. It preserves whatever right to a jury trial the Georgia Constitution or a state statute already provides; it doesn’t expand jury-trial rights beyond those sources.
What does it mean for the jury trial right to be “preserved inviolate”?
It means the right, once it exists under the Constitution or a statute, cannot be diminished or interfered with through court procedure.
Can a party give up the right to a jury trial that this section protects?
Yes. Code Section 9-11-39 sets out how parties may stipulate to a bench trial instead.
Does this section apply to claims created by statute rather than by common law?
Yes. The text covers the right “as declared by the Constitution” and the right “as given by a statute,” so a jury-trial right that a later statute creates for a particular claim is preserved the same as a constitutional one.
Where does this section fit within Chapter 11?
It opens Article 6, the article governing trials, before the chapter turns to consent and court-ordered jury trials, jury composition, and verdicts.
Amendment History
Ga. L. 1966, p. 609, § 38.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, published by the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Revision Commission / LexisNexis. Last verified July 17, 2026.
· Official source
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