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 family has asked for a jury trial. —Nikita Ostrovsky, Time, 23 Oct. 2025

The undisclosed settlement, reached in September, came before the case was scheduled to go to a jury trial in November. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025

The Lysons are fighting the charges, have asked for a jury trial and the case was recently postponed until December. —Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 22 Oct. 2025

Both men were acquitted after a December 2024 jury trial at which Kautzman emphasized a lack of expert consensus about the cause of Whitfield's death. —Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 21 Oct. 2025

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.