Ind. Marion Cnty. Small Cl. Local Rule LR49-TP38-303

A demand for trial by jury must be filed with the Court no fewer than ten (10) days after the first

setting of the initial hearing.

Comment: This Rule implements Ind. T. R. 38(B) which governs the timeliness of a Jury Demand. A

jury must be demanded no later than ten (10) days after the deadline for filing a responsive pleading

or in most cases about thirty (30) days after service. When as in Small Claims cases, no responsive

pleading is required, the deadline for demanding a jury is “within ten (10) days after the time such

pleading otherwise would have been required.”

The right to a jury trial in most civil cases is a right protected by both the Indiana and U.S.

Constitutions. Pro se litigants in small claims cases may first become aware of this important right

by receiving a pamphlet or talking with court staff at the initial hearing. Imposing a deadline of ten

(10) days after service, as is required by Ind. Code § 33-29-2-7 for small claims courts which are a

division of a Superior Court, would result in some defendants inadvertently losing this right before

their initial hearing. This Court believes that LR49-TP38-303 is more consistent with Ind. T. R.

38(B) and the constitutional status of the right to a trial by jury.

Adopted Oct. 15, 2012, effective March 1, 2013