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Civil Procedure - White V. Mcginnis: The Ninth Circuit Expands Civil Jury Trial Waiver, Herber Carlton Leney Jr.

Golden Gate University Law Review

In White v. McGinnis, the Ninth Circuit held that a civil litigant's knowing participation in a bench trial without objection constituted waiver of a timely jury demand. This case overruled Palmer v. United States in which the Ninth Circuit determined that acquiesence to a bench trial did not constitute waiver of a jury trial demand. This article will examine the Ninth Circuit's rejection of the literal statutory language of civil jury trial waiver under Rules 38(d) and 39(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.