jury trial

noun

: a trial that is decided by a jury

I demand my right to a jury trial.

Examples of jury trial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Court records show a jury trial is scheduled for June 2, 2025. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 13 Feb. 2025

The settlement was reached before a jury trial was scheduled to begin last Friday. —David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025

The former employee is asking for damages and demanding a jury trial. —Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 12 Feb. 2025

The plea scuttles a jury trial that had been set for Jan. 10, 2022. January 2022: What’s next for the ComEd bribery probe? —Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025

Legal Definition

jury trial

noun

: a trial in which a jury serves as the trier of fact

called also trial by jury

compare bench trial

Note: The right to a jury trial is established in the U.S. Constitution, but it is not an absolute right. The Supreme Court has stated that petty crimes (as those carrying a sentence of up to 6 months) do not require trial by jury. The right to a jury trial in a criminal case may be waived by the “express and intelligent consent” of the defendant, usually in writing, as well as, in federal cases, the approval of the court and consent of the prosecutor. There is no right to a jury trial in equity cases. When a civil case involves both legal and equitable issues or procedure, either party may demand a jury trial (and failure to do so is taken as a waiver), but the judge may find that there is no right to a jury trial because of equitable issues or claims.