(a) The parties or their attorneys of record, by written stipulation filed with the court or by an oral stipulation made in open court and entered in the record, may consent to trial by the court sitting without a jury.
§ 9-11-39.Consent to trial by court; jury trial on court order
Chapter 11. Civil Practice Act · Article 6. Trials · Last amended 1966 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceThis section lets parties waive a jury and try a case to the court by written or in-court oral stipulation, and separately lets the court order a jury trial in a case not triable of right, with a verdict that carries the same effect as one from a jury trial that was never waived.
Full Text of § 9-11-39
(b) In all actions not triable of right by a jury, or where jury trial has been expressly waived, the court may nevertheless order a trial with a jury whose verdict will have the same effect as if trial by jury had been a matter of right or had not been waived.
Plain-English Summary
Subsection (a) gives the parties an easy way to trade a jury trial for a bench trial: a written stipulation filed with the court, or an oral stipulation made in open court and entered in the record. Either method works, and neither requires the court’s advance approval — the parties control this choice.
Subsection (b) runs the other direction. Even in a case with no jury-trial right, or one where the parties already waived the jury, the court may still order a jury trial on its own. That might happen when a judge wants a jury’s view on a mixed legal and equitable matter, or finds a jury more efficient for a particular case.
The closing clause matters: a verdict from a court-ordered jury under subsection (b) has “the same effect as if trial by jury had been a matter of right or had not been waived.” The parties don’t get a lesser, merely advisory verdict — the jury’s decision binds the case exactly as it would in an ordinary jury trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can parties waive their right to a jury trial in a Georgia civil case?
By written stipulation filed with the court, or by an oral stipulation made in open court and entered in the record.
Can a court order a jury trial in a case that wouldn’t normally get one?
Yes. Subsection (b) lets the court order a jury trial in actions not triable of right by a jury, or where the jury trial was expressly waived.
Does a court-ordered jury verdict under subsection (b) count the same as an ordinary jury verdict?
Yes. The statute gives it the same effect as if trial by jury had been a matter of right or had never been waived.
Does the court have to approve a written stipulation waiving a jury trial before it takes effect?
No. The statute doesn’t condition the stipulation’s effect on court approval — the parties’ filed or on-the-record stipulation is what matters.
Who can enter the stipulation to try a case without a jury?
The parties themselves, or their attorneys of record.
Amendment History
Ga. L. 1966, p. 609, § 39.
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
Also known as: waive jury trial georgiastipulate bench trial georgiacourt ordered jury trial georgiajury trial by consent georgia civil case