38.04 Waiver

If you want a jury trial, you have to ask for one the right way and by the right deadline. This means filing a written request and making sure it gets properly filed with the court, following the steps laid out in the court rules. If you skip this step or miss the deadline, you lose your right to have a jury decide your case. Instead, a judge alone would hear the evidence and make the final decision.

Once someone properly asks for a jury trial, that request can't just be canceled later on a whim. If a party wants to take back their request for a jury trial, everyone else involved in the case has to agree to it first. This protects the other side's expectations, since they may have been planning their case around having a jury hear it.