The United States Constitution guarantees the right to a trial by jury in criminal prosecutions. In civil lawsuits (disputes over money, property, and other non-criminal matters), state constitutions provide for the right to trial by jury—but this right may be limited to certain types of claims. And in order to be entitled to a trial by jury in a civil matter, a party generally must file a written request for a jury trial and pay a jury fee a reasonable time before trial.
In Utah, the right to a trial by jury in criminal prosecutions is protected under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. For civil lawsuits, the Utah Constitution, in Article I, Section 10, similarly guarantees the right to a trial by jury. However, this right in civil cases is not absolute and may be subject to certain limitations depending on the type of claim. To invoke the right to a jury trial in a civil matter, a party must typically file a written demand for a jury trial within a specified time frame as dictated by the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, specifically Rule 38. Additionally, the party requesting a jury trial is usually required to pay a jury fee, which helps cover the cost of compensating jurors for their service. Failure to make a timely request or to pay the required fee may result in the right to a jury trial being waived.