{"id":623,"date":"2016-11-19T09:08:27","date_gmt":"2016-11-19T15:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlinglaw.wpengine.com\/?p=623"},"modified":"2022-05-11T11:48:06","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T11:48:06","slug":"eviction-by-jury-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlinglaw.com\/eviction-by-jury-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Eviction by Jury Trial \u2013 Information for Texas Landlords"},"content":{"rendered":"

Evictions are a hassle.\u00a0 They\u2019re expensive and time-consuming.\u00a0 But when your tenant requests a jury trial<\/a> a whole different level of pain-in-my-neck (yes \u2013 I cleaned that up\u2026).<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get right to it: your best and least expensive option in this situation is to pursue settlement aggressively.\u00a0 Where settlement is not an option, you should seriously consider hiring my office to represent you in your eviction.\u00a0 But, of course I\u2019m going to say that<\/em>!\u00a0 But being the DIY kinda person you are, you want to learn about how to handle your own<\/em> eviction by jury trial<\/a> works.<\/p>\n

Why Would the State of Texas Even Permit Tenants to Request an Eviction by Jury Trial?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Even though you cannot hold, feel, or touch your right to be in possession of your home, possession of real estate is nonetheless a \u201cproperty right.\u201d\u00a0 And possession of real estate is a\u00a0distinct property right than is title (ownership).\u00a0 For a government agent \u2013 like a Judge \u2013 to issue a ruling that takes away a defendant\u2019s right to possession of real estate, the U.S. Constitution requires government agents to give\u00a0defendants\u00a0notice and\u00a0hearing before issuing such a ruling.\u00a0\u00a0Texas\u00a0procedural laws give\u00a0tenants\u00a0an opportunity to have\u00a0these hearings ruled upon by a jury.<\/p>\n

What Must a Tenant do to Obtain a Jury Trial?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Very little, I\u2019m afraid.\u00a0 The tenant need only make a request for an eviction by jury trial<\/a> no later than 14 days before the matter is originally set for trial.\u00a0 If the tenant is indigent, the tenant may request the Court to waive the jury fee.\u00a0 Courts are often very liberal in granting such requests for indigent tenants.<\/p>\n

Bottom line \u2013 if your tenant wants a Jury Trials<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Creating the Venire<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Shortly before the eviction by jury trial<\/a> and who showed up for trial are, as a group, referred to as \u201cthe venire.\u201d\u00a0 If, for some reason, the venire consists of less than 12 potential jurors on the day of the trial, the Judge will likely reset the trial date.\u00a0 Alternatively, the Judge may order the Constable to grab people off the street to serve on the jury panel.\u00a0 This process is called \u201csummoning talesmen.\u201d\u00a0 While I have never experienced a venire of less than 12, I would expect the judge to reset the trial as opposed to summoning talesmen.<\/p>\n

Drawing the Jury<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Court will first \u201cdraw\u201d the jury.\u00a0 This means the Court will place the venire in a specific order.\u00a0 This can be done buy use of software that creates a randomly ordered list of names.\u00a0 Alternatively, the Court may do this the old fashioned way: creating the list by pulling the veniremens\u2019 names from a hat.\u00a0 After the Court draws the jury (technically, the court draws the \u201cvenire,\u201d but in practice we still call this process \u201cdrawing the jury\u201d), the Court will provide both you and your tenant with the list of veniremen.\u00a0 If neither you nor your tenant strikes any of the jurors from the list, the first six veniremen will be empaneled on your jury.\u00a0 Never do this.<\/p>\n

Selecting the Jury \u2013 Voir Dire<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You and your tenant must select six jurors.\u00a0 The Judge will not select the jury for you.\u00a0 You and your tenant have the right to question the venire to determine if they have prejudices or biases that may impact the case.\u00a0 This process is called voir dire.\u00a0 IT IS ARGUABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP IN THE\u00a0EVICTION BY\u00a0jury trial<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Opening Statements<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Judge will instruct you to give the jury a short speech.\u00a0 Your opening statement is VERY important.\u00a0 There are certain topics that you absolutely must cover<\/u>.\u00a0 Failing to cover the correct topics will result in complete chaos when the jurors go to deliberate your case.\u00a0 In an eviction by jury trial<\/a>.\u00a0 It is important that you present the documents in an order that the jury will understand the facts of the case.\u00a0 Typically, presenting your case chronologically is best.\u00a0 But it is amazingly difficult to explain a complicated sequence of facts to a group of people only once<\/em>, and ensure they \u201cget it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When you are presenting your case, you may also call witnesses.<\/p>\n

Using effective<\/em> witnesses to present your case establishes credibility.\u00a0 The jury won\u2019t want to take only your word for it.\u00a0 But notice I say effective<\/em> witnesses.\u00a0 Always be honest with yourself about whether a jury will be turned off by any of your witnesses.\u00a0 Your tenant will have an opportunity to cross-examine your witnesses.\u00a0 If any of your witnesses become too emotional or argumentative during your tenant\u2019s cross-examination, you should use that witness only if you have no other option.\u00a0 Do you remember the Trump-Clinton Presidential Debates?\u00a0 Jurors generally do not like witnesses who interrupt the other party.<\/p>\n

Do not use multiple witnesses to make the same point over and over.\u00a0 This tactic does not strengthen your case in any meaningful way.\u00a0 It just makes you look petty.\u00a0 If the tenant failed to maintain the lawn, give the jury a picture.\u00a0 Lining up three neighbors to testify about how the tenant failed to maintain the yard can be a big turn off for most jurors.\u00a0 jury trial<\/a>.\u00a0 Justices of the Peace will often permit the tenant to start making their case from the defendant\u2019 desk, and not from the witness stand.\u00a0 It is important to understand that after\u00a0tenant has given his opening statement, any statements he makes about the case\u00a0are testimony.\u00a0 You need to object if your tenant does this.\u00a0 And tenants do it a lot.<\/p>\n

Just as you did when your tenant has finished presenting his case, your tenant must tell the Judge that he \u201crests.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Closing Statements<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The closing statement is also extremely important.\u00a0 Just as there are certain things you need to address in your opening statement, there are very specific items you must cover in your closing statement.\u00a0 There is no legal requirement that you cover these items.\u00a0 There are, instead, practical ones.\u00a0 While you do want to spend a minute or two summarizing the case, you want to make that summary very short.\u00a0 Judges will often impose time limitations on your closing statement during the eviction by jury trial<\/a>.\u00a0 Jury questions are a set of questions that lead the jury through the decision-making process.\u00a0 The question your jury must answer is, \u201cDoes the landlord have the superior right of possession?\u201d\u00a0 But that question is the ultimate<\/em> question the jury must reach.\u00a0 To get to that ultimate question, the jury must first answer several other questions.\u00a0 For example, in a non-payment of rent trial that involves a written lease agreement, the jury must answer the following questions before reaching that ultimate question:<\/p>\n