Group VI: Trials · Last amended December 7, 2020 · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 39 governs how a case moves from a jury demand into an actual jury trial, and spells out when a judge alone decides the facts instead.
(a)By Jury. — When a jury trial has been demanded under Rule 38, the action must be designated on the docket as a jury action. The trial on all issues so demanded must be by jury unless:
(1)the parties or their attorneys file a stipulation to a nonjury trial or so stipulate on the record; or
(2)the court, on motion or on its own, finds that on some or all of those issues there is no right to a jury trial; or
(3)when a party to the issue fails to appear at the trial, the parties appearing consent to trial by the court sitting without a jury.
(b)By the Court. — Issues on which a jury trial is not properly demanded are to be tried by the court. But the court may, on motion, order a jury trial on any issue for which a jury might have been demanded.
(c)Advisory Jury; Jury Trial by Consent. — In an action not triable of right by a jury, the court, on motion or on its own:
(1)may try any issue with an advisory jury; or
(2)may, with the parties’ consent, try any issue by a jury whose verdict has the same effect as if a jury trial had been a matter of right, unless the action is against the State of Wyoming when a statute provides for a nonjury trial.
Amendment History
Added February 2, 2017, effective March 1, 2017; amended October 6, 2020, effective December 7, 2020.
Plain-English Summary
Once someone demands a jury under Rule 38, the clerk marks the case as a jury action, and the case stays that way through trial unless something changes it. Three things can change it: the parties agree in writing or on the record to skip the jury, the court decides a particular issue never carried a jury right in the first place, or one side does not show up and the rest agree to let the judge decide alone. Any issue that was never properly demanded for a jury falls to the judge by default, though the judge can still call in a jury for those issues if asked.
Rule 39 also gives judges a middle option. Even in a case with no jury right at all, a judge can convene an advisory jury to weigh in on the facts, while the final call still rests with the bench. Or, if everyone agrees, the judge can let a jury verdict count as binding just as if a jury had been demanded as of right — except in suits against the State of Wyoming where a statute requires the case be tried without a jury.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I demand a jury trial and then change my mind?
You and the other parties can stipulate to a nonjury trial, either in writing or by saying so on the record in court. Once everyone agrees, the case proceeds before the judge alone.
Can a judge cancel a jury trial without the parties agreeing?
Yes. The court can find, on its own or on motion, that a particular issue never carried a right to a jury trial, and can remove that issue from the jury regardless of what any party wants.
What if one side does not show up for trial?
If a party fails to appear, the other parties who did appear can consent to let the judge decide the case without a jury, even though a jury had been demanded.
Can a judge call a jury for an issue that was never demanded?
Yes. Rule 39(b) lets the court, on motion, order a jury trial on any issue that could have carried a jury right, even after the deadline for demanding one has passed.
What is an advisory jury and when is it used?
An advisory jury hears a case that has no right to a jury trial and gives the judge a nonbinding verdict. The judge weighs that input but makes the final findings alone, unless the parties consented to treat the verdict as binding.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Wyoming. Last verified July 14, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:jury waiver wyomingstipulate to bench trialadvisory jury ruleright to jury trial wyomingjury trial by consent