Jury Trial

Trial of facts by a body of lay citizens under a judge who rules the law

Overview

The jury of ordinary citizens decides contested facts, a lineage running from Athenian panels through Magna Carta to the modern petit jury of twelve or fewer. Unanimity was the classic common law rule, with majority verdicts now accepted in many jurisdictions. Juries bring community conscience, can acquit against the evidence in nullification, and anchor public confidence in criminal justice, though critics question their competence in complex cases. Civil jury use has shrunk sharply outside the United States, which alone preserves it broadly.