In essence, Rule 36 means that all defendants are guaranteed a trial within one year of their arraignment.
Rule 9 is intended to address those situations in which a respondent may present a risk of flight or harm, given the fact that the respondent may be before the court unwillingly and may be suffering from the effects of alcohol or drugs resulting in unpredictable, aggressive, or violent behavior.
Rule 56 - Summary Judgment (a)Motions for Summary Judgment. A party may move for summary judgment subsequent to the commencement of any proceeding under these rules except in actions for divorce or in actions for custody or visitation or for criminal contempt.
Any person who is detained within the Commonwealth upon the unexecuted portion of a sentence imposed pursuant to a criminal proceeding is entitled to be tried upon any untried indictment or complaint pending against him in any court in this Commonwealth within the time prescribed by subdivision (b) of this rule.
Any party may demand a trial by jury of any issue triable of right by a jury by (1) serving upon the other parties a demand therefor in writing at any time after the commencement of the action and not later than 10 days after the service of the last pleading directed to such issue, and (2) filing the demand as required ...
The provisions of Rule 36 make it clear that admissions function very much as pleadings do. Thus, when a party admits in part and denies in part, his admission is for purposes of the pending action only and may not be used against him in any other proceeding.
The most common techniques of alternative dispute resolution include the Minitrial, Arbitration, the Summary Jury Trial, the Rent-a-Judge program, Voluntary Settlement Conferences and Private Organizations established to assist in dispute resolution.
Generally speaking, if there are no factual issues in dispute, a court trial would serve you well. When there are disputed facts, you normally have a better chance convincing a jury than a judge to see things your way. Remember, a jury is strictly the finder of facts in a trial.
Amendment Seven to the Constitution was ratified on December 15, 1791. It protects the right for citizens to have a jury trial in federal courts with civil cases where the claim exceeds a certain dollar value. It also prohibits judges in these trials from overruling facts revealed by the jury.