Also known as: non-jury · bench trial
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Describing a trial or proceeding decided by a judge rather than a jury.
Nia Nkosi sued Nova Pharmaceuticals in federal court for product liability. After a nonjury trial the judge entered judgment for the defendant. Nia filed a timely motion under Rule 59 seeking rehearing on the ground that newly available internal testing data had been overlooked.
Nathan Nguyen sued Norton Bank for breach of a loan agreement. Following a nonjury trial the court entered judgment for the bank. Nathan moved under Rule 59 to open the judgment, introduce newly obtained bank records, and obtain amended findings on the meaning of the repayment clause.
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Nina Nielsen sued Northern Manufacturing for workplace injury. The company asserted a statutory-employer defense that the state courts treat as a nonjury issue. The federal court weighed the state interest in reserving the question to a judge against the federal interest in jury trial and decided the defense itself without submitting it to the jury.
Nathaniel Newman challenged a land-use regulation as a taking. The district court conducted a nonjury trial on the economic-impact prong and made findings of fact and conclusions of law that the regulation did not deny all economically viable use of the property.
Nancy Nelson was prosecuted for distributing videos depicting animal cruelty. The court conducted a nonjury trial, heard closing argument from defense counsel, and entered findings that the statute as applied violated the First Amendment.
Nyah Ndlovu challenged a federal statute regulating local activity as exceeding Congress's commerce power. The district court held a nonjury trial, made findings on the attenuated connection to interstate commerce, and entered judgment declaring the statute unconstitutional.
Rule 59(a)(2) authorizes the court, on motion for a new trial, to open the judgment, take additional testimony, amend findings of fact and conclusions of law, and direct entry of a new judgment. A party may also move under Rule 52(b) within twenty-eight days after judgment to amend findings. The court has discretion to correct oversights that could affect the outcome without ordering a new trial.
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Rule 52(a)(1) requires the court to find the facts specially and state its conclusions of law separately. The findings and conclusions may appear on the record after the close of evidence or in an opinion or memorandum of decision. A terse oral announcement that fails to distinguish competing evidence or apply the governing legal standard is insufficient.
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Under Rule 39(a)(1) the parties may file a stipulation or stipulate on the record to a nonjury trial. Rule 39(c)(2) also permits the court, with the parties' consent, to try any issue by a jury whose verdict has the same effect as if a jury trial had been a matter of right, unless a federal statute provides for a nonjury trial against the United States.
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…compensation regardless of whether the legislature had acted in furtherance of legitimate police power objectives. Following a bench trial, the court agreed. Among its factual determinations was the finding that "at the time Lucas purchased the two lots, both were zoned for single-family residential construction and . . .…