Rule 1.927.Separation and deliberation of jury

Rule 1.927(1) sets the ground rules the moment a jury is sworn: the jury may not separate unless the court so orders, and the court must advise jurors of their duty not to converse with any other juror or person about the case, and not to be addressed on the subject of the trial. Jurors are also expected to try to avoid forming an opinion about the case until it is finally submitted to them — a discipline meant to keep the verdict grounded in the full trial record rather than a snap first impression.

Rule 1.927(2) picks up once the case is finally submitted. At that point the jury retires for deliberation and stays together in the charge of an officer until the jurors reach a verdict or are discharged, unless the court permits temporary separation overnight, on weekends or holidays, or in emergencies. The officer in charge is held to a strict standard of silence: no communication to the jurors except to ask whether they have agreed on a verdict, unless the court orders otherwise, and no communication to anyone else about the state of deliberations or the verdict before it is rendered.