The trial of all issues for which a jury trial has been requested shall be by jury, unless the parties stipulate that the jury trial shall be as to certain issues only or unless the right to trial by jury as to certain issues does not exist; however, except as otherwise provided under the provisions of Article 1562, there shall be but one trial.
Art. 1736.Trial of Less Than All Issues; Stipulation
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title V. Trial · Chapter 7. Jury Trial · Enacted 1983 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1736 requires a single trial covering every issue for which a jury was requested, unless the parties stipulate that only some issues will go to the jury or the right to a jury does not extend to certain issues, preserving Louisiana's general preference against splitting a case into separate jury and bench proceedings.
Full Text of Art. 1736
Amendment History
Added by Acts 1983, No. 534, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Once a jury has been demanded, Article 1736 sets a default: every issue covered by that demand gets tried to the jury. Parties can narrow that default by stipulating that only certain issues will go to the jury, and the default naturally does not reach issues where no jury right exists in the first place — the two exceptions the article recognizes.
The article closes with a broader point about how the case proceeds as a whole: there is to be but one trial. Louisiana does not, as a general matter, split a single case into a jury trial on some issues and a separate bench trial on others held at a different time, except where Article 1562 allows separate trials of distinct issues or claims. Article 1736 works alongside that separate-trials provision rather than displacing it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Louisiana case be split into a jury trial and a separate bench trial?
Generally no. Article 1736 calls for one trial, unless the parties stipulate that the jury will decide only certain issues or Article 1562 permits separate trials.
Can parties agree to have a jury decide only some issues?
Yes, by stipulation. The parties can limit which issues go to the jury even after a broad jury demand has been filed.
What happens to issues where a jury trial right doesn't exist?
Those issues are decided by the judge in the same proceeding, since the one-trial rule does not extend the jury right to issues that were never jury-triable.
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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