Jury trial

A trial in which a group of citizens, the jury, determines disputed facts and returns a verdict. A judge oversees proceedings and rules on questions of law.

Jury selection: The process of choosing jurors eligible to hear a case and decide its facts. Selection determines who will evaluate evidence and deliberate in this trial.
Jury: A group of people selected to decide facts or make findings in a legal proceeding. A jury trial is defined by assigning disputed facts to this group.
Bench trial: A trial in which a judge, rather than a jury, determines disputed facts and delivers the decision. It assigns fact-finding to the judge instead of a jury.
Magna Carta: A 1215 charter that limited royal authority and shaped later ideas of lawful judgment. Its promise of judgment by peers became part of the jury's constitutional heritage.
Voir dire: Questioning prospective jurors to identify bias or other grounds for exclusion. This questioning tests whether prospective jurors can fairly serve in the case.
Judge: A public official who presides over court proceedings and applies the law. The judge manages the trial and decides legal questions while the jury weighs facts.
Jury waiver: A party's legally effective relinquishment of the right to have a jury decide a case. Waiving the jury can turn a jury-eligible case into a bench trial.
English common law: A legal tradition developed through court decisions and customs in England. Jury trial procedures developed within this legal tradition and spread through it.
Jury instructions: A judge's explanation of the legal rules jurors must apply when deciding a case. Instructions define the legal framework for the jury's fact-finding.
Evidence: Information presented in a legal proceeding to help establish or challenge disputed facts. Jurors base factual findings on evidence admitted during the trial.

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