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Can You Get a Jury Fee Refunded if Your Case is Decided by a Bench Trial

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  • 04-07-2017, 05:15 PM
    epic
    Can You Get a Jury Fee Refunded if Your Case is Decided by a Bench Trial
    My question involves court procedures for the state of: IL

    When we went to court our lawyer filed for a jury trial and there was a fee he had to pay to the court for that. The opposing party plead they didn't want a jury trial - judge said no jury trial.. Do we receive our payment for the jury trial back. How do we get the fee back that we paid the court, since we didn't have a jury trial and we weren't the one that pulled it.
  • 04-07-2017, 05:22 PM
    adjusterjack
    Re: If Judge Rules No Jury Trial but Bench Trial Do We Get Our Money Back
    How about going to the courthouse and saying "Hi, our judge said no jury trial, please refund the fee."

    Or, ask your lawyer.
  • 04-08-2017, 08:24 AM
    epic
    Re: If Judge Rules No Jury Trial but Bench Trial Do We Get Our Money Back
    I left a message about this with the lawyer and got no response either way - So it appears like you don't know the answer either to "as a general rule" what happens in situations like this.".
  • 04-08-2017, 10:02 AM
    adjusterjack
    Re: If Judge Rules No Jury Trial but Bench Trial Do We Get Our Money Back
    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    it appears like you don't know the answer either to "as a general rule" what happens in situations like this.".

    I gave you an answer.

    Go to the courthouse and ask for the money. Bring a copy of the judge's ruling. Which you can get from the case file when you are at the courthouse.

    Or, you can keep waiting for your lawyer to call you back, then pay him his hourly rate to handle this for you.
  • 04-08-2017, 10:53 AM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Can You Get a Jury Fee Refunded if Your Case is Decided by a Bench Trial
    If you had the right to an attorney, then it would not be a situation in which the judge could simply deny you a jury -- you would have had to have waived that right. If you waive the right to a jury after paying the fee, you don't get the fee returned.

    If you did not have the right to a jury but paid a fee, it would be necessary to review the nature of the case, the state and local court rules, and perhaps also case law to determine if the fee you paid entitled you to a jury trial, or if (for example) it was more in the manner of a motion fee.

    Absent your waiving the jury, this is an unusual scenario.
  • 04-08-2017, 02:32 PM
    epic
    Re: Can You Get a Jury Fee Refunded if Your Case is Decided by a Bench Trial
    This was a civil suit. The judge denied the jury trial after the attorney for the other side opposed the jury trial or made a motion against having a jury decide the case. Judge agreed and said he'd decide the case. The amount was not a small amount of money. We wanted the jury other side didn't want a jury.
  • 04-08-2017, 03:57 PM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Can You Get a Jury Fee Refunded if Your Case is Decided by a Bench Trial
    It went without saying that it was a civil suit, and we know that suits occur in court before judges. That doesn't tell us what type of case it was, or what court heard the case. There are a wide range of types of civil suit, and several varieties of trial court. Also, for local court rules, you need to look at the rules relating to the specific court in which the case is heard.
  • 04-09-2017, 10:34 AM
    epic
    Re: Can You Get a Jury Fee Refunded if Your Case is Decided by a Bench Trial
    Ok, I guess it's unusual, but depends on the case, It was a bench trial heard by the judge only. It was circuit Court.
  • 04-10-2017, 09:56 AM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Can You Get a Jury Fee Refunded if Your Case is Decided by a Bench Trial
    If you become willing to share the information necessary to help clarify the situation, we can discuss it further. If you continue to prefer to keep it to yourself, all I can do is suggest that you consult a local lawyer with the details.
  • 04-12-2017, 07:34 AM
    epic
    Re: Can You Get a Jury Fee Refunded if Your Case is Decided by a Bench Trial
    Our lawyer is going to petition for the refund tomorrow since we lost the court case he wasn't in a rush. (the other side will just want it as part of the cost of court suit which they were awarded in the judgment)).
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