Rule 48 Juries of Less Than Twelve; Majority Verdict

Here's a plain English summary of this rule:

Normally, a jury in a civil case has twelve people, and all twelve must agree before reaching a verdict. This rule allows the people involved in the lawsuit to agree to something different if they want.

Both sides in the case can agree to use a smaller jury, one with fewer than twelve people. In magistrate's court, they can even agree to use fewer than six jurors. The parties can also agree that the jury doesn't need a unanimous vote. Instead, they can decide ahead of time that a certain majority, like nine out of twelve jurors, is enough to reach a verdict.

The key point is that this only happens if both sides agree to it. If the parties don't make this kind of agreement, the standard rule applies: twelve jurors, and all of them must agree on the verdict.