Petit trial jury

Ideally, a petit jury will be able to return a verdict after deliberating in private over the facts of the case and the instructions from the judge. It is important for members of a petit jury to obey the instructions from the judge, because their role is to determine the veracity of the facts, not the appropriateness of the law. For example, jurors may strongly feel that a defendant is guilty, but the terms of the jury instructions may indicate that they are actually obliged to find the defendant not guilty, given the facts presented.

This situation can arise when jurors hear testimony which is later stricken from the record because it is inadmissible. Likewise, jurors may find a defendant committed an offense which they personally feel is not illegal, but they would be required to vote guilty in accordance with instructions from the judge. A related concept, the grand jury , is a jury which is convened to hear evidence to determine whether there is enough evidence for a trial. If the jury believes that the evidence is firm enough, they can hand down an indictment which will allow the legal system to move to trial.

Grand juries usually have more members than petit juries. A grand jury is presented with evidence from the U. If the grand jury determines there is enough evidence, an indictment will be issued against the defendant. Main content Types of Juries There are two types of juries serving different functions in the federal trial courts: trial juries, also known as petit juries, and grand juries.

Trial Jury A trial jury, also known as a petit jury, decides whether the defendant committed the crime as charged in a criminal case, or whether the defendant injured the plaintiff in a civil case.

Send us feedback. See more words from the same century. Accessed 13 Jan. More Definitions for petit jury. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Save Word. Definition of petit jury. Examples of petit jury in a Sentence Recent Examples on the Web Grand juries decide if there's enough evidence to charge someone with a crime, while a petit jury decides a verdict at the end of a trial by determining if a person should be convicted of a crime.

First Known Use of petit jury 15th century, in the meaning defined above. Learn More About petit jury.