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Right to Jury Trial

II.  The California Constitutional Right to a Jury Trial in Civil Cases

            The California Constitution, as originally adopted in 1849, set out the right to a jury trial in the strongest possible terms:  “ ‘[T]he right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain inviolate for ever; but a jury trial may be waived by the parties in all civil cases in the manner to be prescribed by law.’ ”  (Exline v. Smith (1855) 5 Cal. 112, 112 (Exline), quoting Cal. Const. of 1849, art. I, § 3.)  Soon after the Constitution’s adoption, the Legislature enacted a statute that set out specific situations in which a civil jury is deemed waived and then added, “ ‘The Court may prescribe by rule what shall be deemed a waiver in other cases.’ ”  (Exline, at p. 112, quoting § 179 of the Cal. Civil Practice Act [Stats. 1851, ch. 5, § 179, p. 78].)[2] (ed. Note: Emphasis added)

        In Exline the Supreme Court considered a jury waiver that arose under a court rule adopted pursuant to the statute (§ 179 of the Cal. Civil Practice Act).  The Supreme Court concluded that our Constitution forbids the creation of judicial rules of waiver, even if such rules are promulgated pursuant to a legislative delegation of such power to the judiciary.  The court interpreted the phrase “prescribed by law” within article I, section 3, of the California Constitution of 1849, to mean that the Legislature, alone, had the power to determine the circumstances under which a jury could be waived.  “The Constitution has imposed the power as well as the necessity upon the Legislature, of determining in what cases a jury trial may be waived, which cannot be transferred or delegated to any other department of Government.  The words ‘prescribed by law,’ look to actual legislation upon the subject, and in no just sense can be extended to a permission of the exercise of this power to others.  [¶] . . . [T]he power to ‘prescribe by law’ is legislative, and cannot be conferred on judicial officers . . . .”  (Exline, supra, 5 Cal. at pp. 112-113.)

 . . . .

Hence, California constitutional history reflects an unwavering commitment to the principle that the right to a civil jury trial may be waived only as the Legislature prescribes, even in the face of concerns that the interests of the parties and the courts would benefit from a relaxation of this requirement.

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CONTRACTS, PROFESSIONAL MALPRACTICE

GRAFTON PARTNERS LP v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
(PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP), No. A102790 (Cal. 1st App. Dist.
February 06, 2004)
Only the Legislature may prescribe the method for waiving a civil
jury; since neither Code of Civil Procedure section 631 nor any
other statute authorizes contractual predispute jury waivers, the
parties' agreement is unenforceable.

To read the full text of this opinion, go to:
http://login.findlaw.com/scripts/callaw?dest=ca/caapp4th/slip/2003/a102790.html
[PDF File]
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/californiastatecases/a102790.pdf  
iLaw Dictionary
[PDF File]
GRAFTON PARTNERS LP v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
(PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP), No. A102790 (Cal. 1st App. Dist.
February 06, 2004) 
HTML File
GRAFTON PARTNERS LP v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
(PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP), No. A102790 (Cal. 1st App. DisT HTML-ILD.
CCP
GRAFTON PARTNERS LP v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP), No. A102790 (Cal. 1st App. Dist.February 06, 2004-CCP)

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