Rule 23 Trial by Jury or by the Court
Rule Text
(a) Trial by Jury. Cases required to be tried by jury shall be so tried unless the defendant waives a jury trial in writing with the approval of the court and the consent of the government.
(b) Jury of Less Than Six. Juries shall be of six but at any time before verdict the parties may stipulate in writing with the approval of the court that the jury shall consist of any number less than six or that a valid verdict may be returned by a jury of less than six should the court find it necessary to excuse one or more jurors for any just cause after trial commences. Even absent such stipulation, if the court finds it necessary to excuse a juror for just cause after the jury has retired to consider its verdict, in the discretion of the court a valid verdict may be returned by the remaining five jurors.
(c) Trial Without a Jury. In a case tried without a jury the court shall make a general finding and shall in addition, on request made before the general finding, find the facts specially. Such findings may be oral. If an opinion or memorandum of decision is filed, it will be sufficient if the fmdings of fact appear therein.