(a) Number of prospective jurors. The court must call enough prospective jurors so that, after challenges for cause and peremptory challenges allowed by law, there will remain 12, or sufficient jurors to be sworn to try the case.
K.S.A. 60-247.Jurors
Last amended July 1, 2010 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceK.S.A. 60-247 governs jury selection in Kansas civil trials -- how many prospective jurors the court must call, how they're examined under oath, how challenges for cause and three peremptory challenges per party work, and the oath jurors take before deliberating.
Full Text of K.S.A. 60-247
(b) Examining jurors. Prospective jurors must be examined under oath or affirmation regarding their qualifications to sit as jurors. The court must permit the parties or their attorneys to conduct an examination of prospective jurors.
(c) Challenges.
(1) Challenges for cause. All challenges for cause, whether to the array or panel or to individual prospective jurors, must be decided by the court.
(2) Peremptory challenges. After the panel has been passed for cause, each party is entitled to three peremptory challenges, except as provided in subsection (h) of K.S.A. 60-248, and amendments thereto, when there are alternate jurors. Multiple plaintiffs or multiple defendants are considered a single party for the purpose of making challenges. However, if the court finds a good faith controversy exists between multiple plaintiffs or multiple defendants, the court may allow any of the parties, single or multiple, additional peremptory challenges and permit them to be exercised separately or jointly. Peremptory challenges must be exercised in a manner that will not communicate to the challenged prospective juror the identity of the challenging party or attorney.
(d) Oath of jurors. The jurors must swear or affirm to try the case conscientiously and return a verdict according to the law and the evidence.
Amendment History
L. 1963, ch. 303, 60-247; L. 1970, ch. 233, § 1; L. 1971, ch. 176, § 15; amended by Supreme Court order dated July 28, 1976; L. 2010, ch. 135, § 117; July 1.
Plain-English Summary
Subsection (a) requires the court to call enough prospective jurors so that, after challenges for cause and the peremptory challenges the law allows, 12 jurors -- or enough jurors to try the case -- remain. Subsection (b) requires those prospective jurors to be examined under oath or affirmation about their qualifications to serve, and the court must let the parties or their attorneys conduct that examination.
Subsection (c) covers challenges. All challenges for cause, whether to the whole panel or to an individual prospective juror, are decided by the court. Once the panel has been passed for cause, each party gets three peremptory challenges, except when there are alternate jurors under 60-248(h). Multiple plaintiffs, or multiple defendants, count as a single party for making challenges -- unless the court finds a good faith controversy exists among them, in which case it may allow additional challenges and let the parties exercise them separately or jointly. Peremptory challenges must be exercised in a way that doesn't reveal to the challenged juror which party or attorney struck them.
Subsection (d) closes with the jurors' oath: they must swear or affirm to try the case conscientiously and return a verdict according to the law and the evidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many peremptory challenges does each party get in a Kansas civil trial?
Subsection (c)(2) gives each party three peremptory challenges after the panel has been passed for cause, except as provided in 60-248(h) when there are alternate jurors.
Who decides a challenge for cause against a prospective juror?
Subsection (c)(1) states that all challenges for cause, whether to the array or panel or to an individual prospective juror, are decided by the court.
Do multiple plaintiffs or multiple defendants each get their own set of peremptory challenges?
Generally no -- subsection (c)(2) treats multiple plaintiffs, or multiple defendants, as a single party for challenges, unless the court finds a good faith controversy exists among them and allows additional challenges.
Can the challenging party's identity be revealed to a struck juror?
No. Subsection (c)(2) requires peremptory challenges to be exercised in a manner that won't communicate to the challenged prospective juror the identity of the challenging party or attorney.
What do jurors swear to before a Kansas civil trial?
Subsection (d) requires jurors to swear or affirm to try the case conscientiously and return a verdict according to the law and the evidence.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the
Kansas Statutes Annotated, enacted by the Kansas Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: kansas peremptory challenges civil trialjury selection kansas civil casechallenge for cause kansas jurorshow many jurors kansas trialjuror oath kansas civil procedure