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

The suit seeks a jury trial and damages. —David Chiu, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026

The lawsuit requests a jury trial. —Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 7 Jan. 2026

The former Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers star is asking for a jury trial and seeking damages exceeding $75,000. —Jami Ganz, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026

And exactly one year ago, Myers and Match convinced a federal judge to rule that a class-action lawsuit accusing Match’s Tinder app of being intentionally addictive and seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages needed to be handled by arbitration rather than a jury trial. —Mark Curriden, Dallas Morning News, 3 Jan. 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.