Recently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Parsons v. Associated Banc-Corp., 2017 WI 37 made it easier for parties to waive their rights to a jury trial. In rendering its decision, the state high court reversed an appellate court that held that a contractual waiver of the right to a jury trial was unenforceable unless the parties were aware of “the scope of and the specific nature of the rights given up.” According to the Wisconsin high court, the right to waive a jury trial is pretty much settled. The state supreme court also noted that the section of the Wisconsin constitution that creates the right to a civil jury trial, Art. I, § 5, allows a party to waive a jury "in all cases in the manner prescribed by law."
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