Rule 23. Trial by Jury or by the Court

(a) Trial by Jury; Waiver. All cases in the Unified Criminal Docket shall proceed to jury trial unless the defendant, with the approval of the court, waives a jury trial in writing signed by the defendant in open court, but the absence of a writing in such a case shall not be conclusive evidence of an invalid waiver.

(b) Jury of Fewer Than 12 . Juries shall be of 12, 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 fewer than 12.

(c) Trial Without a Jury. In a case tried before the court without a jury, the court shall make a general finding and shall in addition on request find the facts specially. If an opinion or memorandum of decision is filed, it will be sufficient if the findings of fact appear therein.

Committee Notes

Committee Advisory Note [December 2014] The Rule parallels the content of Rule 23 of the Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure but differs in the following respects. First, subdivision (a) is entirely rewritten. The former procedure requiring a timely demand for a jury trial by a defendant on a charge of a Class D or Class E crime under Rule 22 of the Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure is abandoned (Rule 22 is not carried forward) and subdivision (a) now makes it clear that, irrespective of the class of the crime charged, a defendant is automatically entitled to a jury trial in "[a]ll cases in the Unified Criminal Docket." Further, in subdivision (a) the procedure for waiver of a jury trial by a defendant is changed to require not only that the waiver be in writing, but that it be signed by the defendant in open court as well. This procedure, as modified, is also applied in the waiver of indictment context. See Committee

Advisory Note [December 2014] to M.R.U. Crim. P. 7(b). Second, in subdivision (c) the words "before the court" are added after the word "tried" and before the word "without" to enhance clarity. Further, the procedure respecting findings of fact are simplified.

[Advisory Notes to former Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure]

Advisory Committee Note—1980 [M.R. Crim. P. 23(a).] The principal purpose of the amendment is to dispense with the requirement of a written waiver of jury trial when the offense charged is a Class D or Class E crime.

Advisory Committee Note—1989 [M.R. Crim. P. 23(c).] Rule 23(c) is amended to make clear that it applies only to cases tried without a jury in the Superior Court.

Advisory Note – June 2006 M.R. Crim. P. 23(b). The amendment replaces in the text spelled-out number "twelve" with its figure counterpart. See Advisory Note to M.R. Crim. P. 6(a) and (b)(2).

Advisory Note—July 2010 The amendment to M.R. Crim. P. 23(b) and (c) modifies both the heading and substance of subdivision (b) of Rule 23 by replacing the word "less" with the word "fewer." Further, the amendment modifies subdivision (c) in two respects, reflective of current practice. First, it removes from both the heading and the substance of subdivision (c) the references to the "Superior Court," thus broadening the rule to allow parties to request findings after announcement of a general verdict in non-jury trials in either the Superior Court or the District Court. Second, it requires that the party requesting further findings do so at the time the verdict is announced at the conclusion of the trial. The large volume of non-jury criminal trials makes delayed requests for findings impractical because of the risk of confusing different cases with similar issues. When the court takes a matter under advisement to announce a verdict at a later time by written decision, if the written decision does not include findings, any request for findings must be filed within seven days after filing of the written decision. The court may deny motions for findings filed out of time, or it may, in its discretion, act on the motion and issue further or amended findings.