At any time before either side has exercised a peremptory challenge or challenges, but not thereafter, the court may direct the clerk to draw from the jury box, in addition to the number of jurors required by law to comprise the jury, one (1) or two (2) cards bearing numbers identifying prospective jurors. All jurors so drawn shall be empaneled and shall hear the case. Should it become necessary for any reason to excuse a juror, the trial shall continue unless the number of jurors be reduced below the number required by law. If the membership of the jury exceeds the number required by law, immediately before the jury retires to consider its verdict the clerk, in open court, shall place in a box the cards bearing numbers identifying the jurors empaneled to hear the case and, after thoroughly mixing them, withdraw from the box at random a sufficient number of cards (one or two, as the case may be) to reduce the jury to the number required by law, whereupon the jurors so selected for elimination shall be excused.
Rule 47.02.Alternate jurors.
Current through June 18, 2026 · Last verified July 9, 2026
In one sentenceRule 47.02 lets the trial court seat one or two alternate jurors -- drawn before either side exercises a peremptory challenge -- who hear the whole case, and sets out how the court trims the panel back to the number the law requires by random draw before the jury retires if no alternate had to fill in along the way.
Full Text of Rule 47.02
Amendment History
(Amended effective October 1, 1971; amended September 4, 1979, effective January 1, 1980.)
Plain-English Summary
Trials can run long, and jurors sometimes have to be excused mid-trial -- illness, a family emergency, a conflict that surfaces later. Rule 47.02 gives the court a way to guard against that: before either side exercises a peremptory challenge, the judge can direct the clerk to draw one or two extra names from the jury box. Those additional jurors are empaneled with everyone else and sit through the entire case, hearing the same evidence and instructions as the rest of the panel.
If a seated juror has to be excused during trial, the trial continues as long as enough jurors remain to meet the number the law requires. Nobody is singled out in advance as an 'alternate' -- every juror drawn is a full member of the panel throughout the trial. Only if the panel still has more jurors than the law requires when it's time to deliberate does the court trim it down. The clerk places the numbered cards of everyone still on the jury in a box, mixes them, and draws out at random the one or two names needed to bring the jury back to the legal number. Whoever is drawn is excused at that point, and the remaining jurors retire to decide the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an alternate juror in a Kentucky civil case?
Under Rule 47.02, an alternate is an extra juror -- one or two -- drawn from the jury box before either side uses a peremptory challenge. Alternates are empaneled with everyone else and hear the full case, not just part of it.
How does a Kentucky court pick which juror to drop if too many are left before deliberations?
By random draw. If more jurors remain than the number the law requires when the jury is ready to deliberate, the clerk places everyone's numbered cards in a box, mixes them, and draws out the one or two needed to reduce the jury to the required size. Those jurors are then excused.
Can a Kentucky civil trial keep going if a juror is excused partway through?
Yes, as long as the number of remaining jurors doesn't fall below what the law requires. Rule 47.02 lets the trial continue with a juror excused mid-trial instead of starting over.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure (Ky. R. Civ. P. 47.02). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Kentucky (Ky. Const. § 116). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 9, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: Kentucky alternate juror ruleCR 47.02how many alternate jurors in Kentucky civil trialjuror excused mid-trial Kentuckyreplacing a juror during trial Kentuckydrawing extra jurors for a jury Kentucky