Rule 2.511.Impaneling the Jury

Current through May 1, 2026 · Last verified July 6, 2026

In one sentenceRule 2.511 governs how a Michigan civil jury is selected, covering random draw and examination of prospective jurors, alternate jurors, challenges for cause and their specific grounds, three peremptory challenges per side, a flat ban on discrimination during jury selection, the jurors' oath, and the restrictions jurors must follow (including a ban on independent research) throughout their service.

Full Text of Rule 2.511

Text sizeJump to: (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G) (H) (I)

(A) Selection of Jurors.

(1) Persons who have not been discharged or excused as prospective jurors by the court are subject to selection for the action or actions to be tried during their term of service as provided by law.

(2) In an action that is to be tried before a jury, the names or corresponding numbers of the prospective jurors shall be deposited in a container, and the prospective jurors must be selected for examination by a random blind draw from the container.

(3) The court may provide for random selection of prospective jurors for examination from less than all of the prospective jurors not discharged or excused.

(4) Prospective jurors may be selected by any other fair and impartial method directed by the court or agreed to by the parties.

(B) Alternate Jurors. The court may direct that 7 or more jurors be impaneled to sit. After the instructions to the jury have been given and the action is ready to be submitted, unless the parties have stipulated that all the jurors may deliberate, the names of the jurors must be placed in a container and names drawn to reduce the number of jurors to 6, who shall constitute the jury. The court may retain the alternate jurors during deliberations. If the court does so, it shall instruct the alternate jurors not to discuss the case with any other person until the jury completes its deliberations and is discharged. If an alternate juror replaces a juror after the jury retires to consider its verdict, the court shall instruct the jury to begin its deliberations anew.

(C) Examination of Jurors. The court may examine prospective jurors or permit the attorneys for the parties to do so. If the court examines the prospective jurors, it must permit the attorneys for the parties to

(1) ask further questions that the court considers proper, or

(2) submit further questions that the court may ask if it considers them proper.

(D) Discharge of Unqualified Juror. When the court finds that a person in attendance at court as a juror is not qualified to serve as a juror, the court shall discharge him or her from further attendance and service as a juror.

(E) Challenges for Cause. The parties may challenge jurors for cause, and the court shall rule on each challenge. A juror challenged for cause may be directed to answer questions pertinent to the inquiry. It is grounds for a challenge for cause that the person:

(1) is not qualified to be a juror;

(2) is biased for or against a party or attorney;

(3) shows a state of mind that will prevent the person from rendering a just verdict, or has formed a positive opinion on the facts of the case or on what the outcome should be;

(4) has opinions or conscientious scruples that would improperly influence the person's verdict;

(5) has been subpoenaed as a witness in the action;

(6) has already sat on a trial of the same issue;

(7) has served as a grand or petit juror in a criminal case based on the same transaction;

(8) is related within the ninth degree (civil law) of consanguinity or affinity to one of the parties or attorneys;

(9) is the guardian, conservator, ward, landlord, tenant, employer, employee, partner, or client of a party or attorney;

(10) is or has been a party adverse to the challenging party or attorney in a civil action, or has complained of or has been accused by that party in a criminal prosecution;

(11) has a financial interest other than that of a taxpayer in the outcome of the action;

(12) is interested in a question like the issue to be tried.

Exemption from jury service is the privilege of the person exempt, not a ground for challenge.

(F) Peremptory Challenges.

(1) A juror peremptorily challenged is excused without cause.

(2) Each party may peremptorily challenge three jurors. Two or more parties on the same side are considered a single party for purposes of peremptory challenges. However, when multiple parties having adverse interests are aligned on the same side, three peremptory challenges are allowed to each party represented by a different attorney, and the court may allow the opposite side a total number of peremptory challenges not exceeding the total number of peremptory challenges allowed to the multiple parties.

(3) Peremptory challenges must be exercised in the following manner:

(a) First the plaintiff and then the defendant may exercise one or more peremptory challenges until each party successively waives further peremptory challenges or all the challenges have been exercised, at which point jury selection is complete.

(b) A “pass” is not counted as a challenge but is a waiver of further challenge to the panel as constituted at that time.

(c) If a party has exhausted all peremptory challenges and another party has remaining challenges, that party may continue to exercise their remaining peremptory challenges until such challenges are exhausted.

(G) Discrimination in the Selection Process.

(1) No person shall be subjected to discrimination during voir dire on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.

(2) Discrimination during voir dire on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex for the purpose of achieving what the court believes to be a balanced, proportionate, or representative jury in terms of these characteristics shall not constitute an excuse or justification for a violation of this subsection.

(H) Replacement of Challenged Jurors. After the jurors have been seated in the jurors' box and a challenge for cause is sustained or a peremptory challenge or challenges exercised, another juror or other jurors must be selected and examined. Such jurors are subject to challenge as are previously seated jurors.

(I) Oath of Jurors; Instruction regarding prohibited actions.

(1) The jury must be sworn by the clerk substantially as follows: “Each of you do solemnly swear (or affirm) that, in this action now before the court, you will justly decide the questions submitted to you, that, unless you are discharged by the court from further deliberation, you will render a true verdict, and that you will render your verdict only on the evidence introduced and in accordance with the instructions of the court, so help you God.”

(2) The court shall instruct the jurors that until their jury service is concluded, they shall not

(a) discuss the case with others, including other jurors, except as otherwise authorized by the court;

(b) read or listen to any news reports about the case;

(c) use a computer, cellular phone, or other electronic device with communication capabilities while in attendance at trial or during deliberation. These devices may be used during breaks or recesses but may not be used to obtain or disclose information prohibited in subsection (d) below;

(d) use a computer, cellular phone, or other electronic device with communication capabilities, or any other method, to obtain or disclose information about the case when they are not in court. As used in this subsection, information about the case includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(i) information about a party, witness, attorney, or court officer;

(ii) news accounts of the case;

(iii) information collected through juror research on any topics raised or testimony offered by any witness;

(iv) information collected through juror research on any other topic the juror might think would be helpful in deciding the case.

End

Amendment History

Michigan tracks the orders that adopt and amend its Court Rules in a separate administrative record rather than printing a history note beneath each rule in the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own May 1, 2026 update; for the full order-by-order history of this rule, see the Michigan Supreme Court’s rules and orders page.

Plain-English Summary

Jury selection starts with a random, blind draw of prospective jurors' names or numbers from a container, though the court can also draw from less than the full pool or use any other fair method the parties agree to. The court can seat 7 or more jurors to allow for alternates; once instructions are given and the case is ready to go to the jury, names get drawn down to the 6 who will decide the case, unless the parties have stipulated that everyone deliberates. The court can examine prospective jurors itself, or let the attorneys do it, but either way the attorneys get to ask (or submit) further questions the court considers proper. A juror found unqualified is discharged outright, and either side can challenge a juror for cause on any of a long list of specific grounds — bias, a fixed opinion about the case, a disqualifying relationship to a party or attorney, a financial stake in the outcome, prior service on a related case, and more — with the court ruling on each challenge; beyond cause challenges, each party gets three peremptory challenges usable without any reason at all, exercised in alternating turns between plaintiff and defendant until both sides pass or run out.

Discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex has no place in jury selection, and the rule specifically rejects using those categories even to try to build what a court considers a more balanced or representative jury — that goal doesn't excuse the same underlying discrimination. Once seated, the jury is sworn to decide the case justly and render a true verdict based only on the evidence and the court's instructions, and jurors are barred, for the duration of their service, from discussing the case with anyone outside authorized deliberations, following news coverage of it, or using a phone, computer, or other device to do outside research or get outside information about the case — a restriction that reaches everything from background on the parties and witnesses to a juror's own online research into topics or testimony raised at trial.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are jurors chosen for a Michigan civil trial?

Through a random, blind draw of names or numbers from a container, or another fair method the court directs or the parties agree to, followed by examination and the exercise of challenges for cause and peremptory challenges.

How many peremptory challenges does each side get?

Three per party, though when multiple parties on the same side have adverse interests and different attorneys, each may get three of their own, with the opposing side's total capped at that combined number.

What are some grounds for challenging a juror for cause?

Bias for or against a party or attorney, a fixed opinion about the case, a disqualifying family or financial relationship to a party or attorney, prior service on a related case, and several other specific grounds the rule lists.

Can jurors research the case on their own during trial?

No. Jurors are barred from using a phone, computer, or any other method to research or obtain outside information about the case, including background on the parties, witnesses, or trial testimony, for as long as their jury service continues.

Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the official Michigan Court Rules (MCR 2.511). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Michigan (Mich. Const. 1963, art. VI, § 5). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 6, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: jury selection Michiganperemptory challenge Michiganchallenge for cause Michigan juryvoir dire Michiganjuror internet research ban