Art. 1734.Fixing the Bond; Calling the Jury Venire
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title V. Trial · Chapter 7. Jury Trial · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1734 has the trial court fix the amount and filing deadline for the jury-costs bond once a case is set for trial, no later than sixty days before trial, with a ten-day grace period for another party to post it if the original party misses the deadline, and directs the clerk to order the jury venire drawn once the bond is filed.
Full Text of Art. 1734
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A. Except as otherwise provided by R.S.13:3105 et seq., when the case has been set for trial, the court shall fix the amount of the bond to cover all costs estimated by the court related to the trial by jury and shall fix the time for filing the bond, which shall be no later than sixty days prior to trial. Notice of the fixing of the bond shall be served on all parties. If the bond is not filed timely, any other party shall have an additional ten days to file the bond.
B. When the bond has been filed, the clerk of court shall order the jury commission to draw a sufficient number of jurors to try and determine the cause, such drawing to be made in accordance with R.S.13:3044.
Article 1733 requires a bond to accompany a jury demand; Article 1734 fills in how that bond gets set. Once a case is set for trial, the court fixes the bond amount to cover the estimated costs of trying the case to a jury, and fixes a deadline for filing it that cannot be later than sixty days before the trial date. Every party gets notice once the court sets that amount and deadline.
Missing the deadline is not automatically fatal to a jury trial in the case. Article 1734 gives any other party an additional ten days to file the bond themselves, so a jury trial that one party has effectively abandoned can still happen if another party is willing to cover the cost. Once the bond is on file, the article moves the process forward mechanically: the clerk of court orders the jury commission to draw enough jurors to try the case, following the drawing procedure set out in the jury-commission statutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who sets the amount of the jury bond in Louisiana?
The trial court does, once the case has been set for trial, based on its estimate of the costs a jury trial will add.
When is the jury bond due?
No later than sixty days before trial; the court fixes the exact deadline and serves notice of it on all parties.
What happens if the party who demanded a jury misses the bond deadline?
Any other party gets an additional ten days to file the bond, preserving the jury trial if someone else is willing to cover the cost.
What happens once the bond is filed?
The clerk of court orders the jury commission to draw enough jurors to try and determine the case.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
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