A jury verdict form is the document a jury uses to record its official decision at the end of a trial. In a criminal case, the form lists each charge separately and asks the jury to mark guilty or not guilty on each one. In a civil case, it addresses liability, allocates fault between the parties, and sets dollar amounts for damages. How complex the form looks depends on the case and on whether the judge asks the jury for a single bottom-line answer or a sequence of specific factual findings.
The Three Types of Verdict Forms
A general verdict is the simplest. The jury picks a winner without explaining how it got there. In a criminal case that means guilty or not guilty; in a civil case it means a finding for the plaintiff or the defendant, often with a lump-sum damages figure attached. The jury does not reveal the reasoning behind its choice.1Legal Information Institute. General Verdict
A special verdict works differently. Instead of picking a winner, the jury answers a series of written factual questions: Was the defendant negligent? Did that negligence cause the plaintiff’s injury? What is the total amount of economic damages? The judge then applies the law to those answers to determine the outcome. This separates the jury’s job (finding facts) from the judge’s job (applying legal rules).2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 49 – Special Verdicts and Interrogatories
A third option splits the difference. With a general verdict accompanied by written questions, the jury picks a winner and awards damages but also answers specific factual questions as a consistency check. If the answers line up with the general verdict, the judge enters judgment accordingly. If they conflict, the judge can enter judgment based on the specific answers, send the jury back for further deliberation, or order a new trial.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 49 – Special Verdicts and Interrogatories
What Every Verdict Form Contains
Every form opens with a case caption identifying the court, the parties, and the case number. Below the caption is a structured sequence of questions or counts that walks the jury through the decisions it needs to make. The layout follows the type of verdict the judge has ordered.
The final section includes a signature line and date. The foreperson, the juror chosen by the panel to lead deliberations, always signs. Some jurisdictions require every juror to sign, creating a written record of each person’s agreement.
Criminal Verdict Forms
A criminal verdict form lists each charge as a separate count. The jury marks guilty or not guilty next to each one independently, so a defendant facing four counts could be convicted on two and acquitted on the other two. The structure prevents the jury from delivering a single blanket decision when the prosecution has brought multiple distinct charges.
A guilty verdict must be unanimous. The Supreme Court confirmed in 2020 that the Sixth Amendment requires every juror to agree on a conviction for any serious offense, in both federal and state courts.3Supreme Court of the United States. Ramos v Louisiana, 590 US 83 (2020)
If the jury agrees on some counts but cannot reach unanimity on others, it can return a partial verdict on the resolved counts. The judge then declares a mistrial on the deadlocked counts only, and the prosecution can decide whether to retry those specific charges.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 31 – Jury Verdict
In the vast majority of criminal cases the jury’s role ends with the guilty-or-not-guilty determination, and sentencing belongs to the judge. The notable exception is federal capital cases, where the jury conducts a separate sentencing hearing and recommends whether the defendant should receive the death penalty, life imprisonment without the possibility of release, or a lesser sentence.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3593 – Special Hearing to Determine Whether a Sentence of Death Is Justified A handful of states also involve juries in sentencing for certain non-capital offenses.
Civil Verdict Forms
A civil form first asks whether the defendant is liable. On a special verdict form this question is broken into components: did the defendant owe the plaintiff a duty, did the defendant breach that duty, and did the breach cause the plaintiff’s harm? If the answer to any threshold question is no, the jury typically stops there and returns a defense verdict.
Comparative Fault
When both sides share some blame, the form asks the jury to assign a percentage of fault to each party, with all percentages totaling 100%. The allocation directly affects the damages award. In many jurisdictions, the plaintiff’s recovery is reduced by the plaintiff’s own share of responsibility. If the jury finds the plaintiff 30% at fault and awards $100,000 in damages, the plaintiff actually recovers $70,000. Some states bar recovery entirely once the plaintiff’s fault crosses a certain threshold.
Damage Categories
The damages section separates the award into specific categories rather than asking for one lump sum. Economic damages cover measurable financial losses like medical bills, lost wages, and property repair costs. Non-economic damages compensate for harm that does not come with a receipt: physical pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and similar injuries. The jury assigns a dollar figure to each category individually.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages require a separate finding beyond ordinary liability. The jury must determine that the defendant’s conduct was malicious, oppressive, or showed reckless disregard for the plaintiff’s rights before any punitive award can be made. Malicious conduct involves ill will or an intent to injure. Reckless disregard means the defendant acted despite knowing its conduct would violate the plaintiff’s rights. Oppressive conduct involves misusing authority or exploiting the plaintiff’s vulnerability.6Ninth Circuit District and Bankruptcy Courts. Ninth Circuit Model Civil Jury Instructions – 5.5 Punitive Damages A separate section of the form captures the finding on this conduct and, if applicable, the punitive dollar amount.
Unanimity in Civil Cases
Civil cases are more flexible on unanimity than criminal cases. In federal court the default rule requires a unanimous verdict, but the parties can agree in advance to accept a non-unanimous result.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 48 – Number of Jurors, Verdict, Polling State courts vary. Some require full unanimity; others allow a supermajority, such as ten of twelve or five of six jurors agreeing. The threshold depends on the jurisdiction and sometimes on the type of civil claim.
Delivering the Form and Polling the Jury
Once deliberations end and the foreperson signs, the panel notifies the court officer and returns to the courtroom. The foreperson hands the completed form to the judge or clerk, who reads the findings aloud.
After the verdict is announced, either side can ask the judge to poll the jury. Polling means the judge asks each juror individually whether the verdict as read is truly that juror’s own decision. In federal civil cases, if the poll reveals that the required number of jurors do not actually agree, the judge can send the jury back for further deliberation or order a new trial.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 48 – Number of Jurors, Verdict, Polling The same right exists in federal criminal cases: if polling reveals a lack of unanimity, the judge can direct further deliberation or declare a mistrial.
After the Form Is Signed
The signed form is not itself an enforceable order. The verdict becomes binding only when the judge enters a formal judgment, filed as a public record. When the jury returns a general verdict, the clerk prepares, signs, and enters the judgment without waiting for the judge’s direction. When the jury returns a special verdict or a general verdict with written answers, the judge first reviews and approves the form of the judgment before the clerk enters it, because the court has to apply the law to the jury’s factual findings before the judgment can be drafted.8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 58 – Entering Judgment Entry of judgment marks the official end of the trial phase and starts the clock on post-trial motions and appeals.
If the jury cannot reach the required level of agreement at all, the judge declares a mistrial, and no verdict form is signed. A mistrial does not end the case. The party that brought the action can choose to retry it with a new jury. In criminal cases, double jeopardy does not prevent retrial after a hung jury, because a mistrial is not an acquittal.9Legal Information Institute. Hung Jury
Even a signed, entered verdict can be challenged. A party can file a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law within 28 days after judgment, arguing that no reasonable jury could have reached the verdict based on the evidence presented. If the court agrees, it can overturn the verdict and enter judgment for the other side.10Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 50 – Judgment as a Matter of Law in a Jury Trial A motion for a new trial raises trial errors instead, such as mistakes in the jury instructions, improperly admitted or excluded evidence, jury misconduct, or newly discovered evidence. In federal criminal cases that motion must be filed within 14 days of the verdict, though motions based on newly discovered evidence get a three-year window. When the damages number on the form seems excessive rather than legally wrong, the judge can use remittitur, reducing damages to the highest amount the evidence supports and giving the plaintiff a choice between accepting the reduced figure or trying the damages question again.