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

Plaintiffs are requesting a jury trial. —Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2026

Testimony in the jury trial resumes Wednesday. —Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026

The judge then agreed to scrap an upcoming May 26 jury trial date and push the trial out more than four months. —Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2026

Ultimately, she was given a jury trial, which began on April 6. —Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for jury trial

• denial
• mistrial
• posttrial
• pretrial
• retrial
• dial
• rial
• thiol
• vial
• sensorial
• supervisorial

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.