WHY WOULD YOU WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY?

In Tennessee, you have a constitutional right to a trial by jury of any civil question – unless, of course, you waive that right. How do you waive that right – by being stupid. Or, by failing to read the document before you sign it.

If you sign a contract that includes an arbitration provision, you waive your right to a jury. Once again, the fool with the pen strikes. What if the contract does not contain an arbitration provision – it just waives your right to a jury. Well, of course that is unenforceable. Everyone knows you have a right to a jury, right? Wrong!

The right to a jury can be waived by merely signing a document that says I waive my right to a jury. Does this really matter? Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. But, normally, it only matters when you are in a lawsuit and you want a jury.

The Moral of this Story is: You can always waive the jury later – what are you receiving for waiving it now?

Poole v. Union Planters Bank, N.A., No. 2009-01507-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 8, 2010).