ju ‧ ry S3 W3 /ˈdʒʊəri $ ˈdʒʊri/ BrE AmE noun ( plural juries ) [countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Anglo-French ; Origin: juree , from Old French jurer 'to swear' , from Latin jus ; ⇨ ↑ just 2 ]
1 . a group of often 12 ordinary people who listen to the details of a case in court and decide whether someone is guilty or not:
the members of the jury
The jury found him not guilty.
the right to trial by jury
sit/serve on a jury (=be part of a jury)
2 . a group of people chosen to judge a competition
3 . the jury is (still) out on something used to say that something has not been finally decided:
Is it good value? The jury is still out on that.
⇨ ↑ grand jury
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ sit/serve on a jury (=be a member of a jury)
At that time, black people were not allowed to serve on juries.
▪ address the jury (=speak to it)
The defence lawyer stood up to address the jury.
▪ a judge directs/instructs a jury (=tells it what to decide)
The judge directed the jury to find her not guilty.
▪ the jury hears something (=is told information about a crime)
The jury heard how the attack followed an argument in a bar.
▪ the jury finds somebody guilty/not guilty
The jury found him guilty of murder.
▪ the jury reaches/arrives at a verdict (=decides if someone is guilty or not guilty)
Has the jury reached a verdict?
▪ the jury returns a verdict (=gives its decision to the court)
The jury returned a guilty verdict.
▪ the jury acquits somebody (=says that someone is not guilty)
He was acquitted by a jury when the case came to court.
▪ the jury convicts somebody (=says that someone is guilty)
The jury convicted him of two fraud charges.
■ phrases
▪ a member of the jury
Only three members of the jury were women.
▪ the foreman of the jury (=the jury's leader, who announces its decision)
The foreman of the jury announced a guilty verdict.
▪ trial by jury (=a trial with a jury)
Defendants have a right to trial by jury.
▪ a jury's verdict (=the decision of a jury)
The jury's verdict is final.
■ adjectives
▪ a hung jury (=one that cannot agree whether someone is guilty of a crime)
The trial ended with a hung jury.
▪ an inquest jury (=one that decides the cause of someone's death)
The inquest jury decided that he died accidentally by falling out of a train door.
▪ a grand jury American English (=one that decides whether someone must be judged in a court )
Their business practices are now being investigated by a grand jury.
■ jury + NOUN
▪ the jury system
The government proposed changes to the jury system.
▪ jury service (=when you have to spend time on a jury)
He has been called for jury service in July.
▪ a jury trial (=a trial with a jury)
Should all accused people have a jury trial?
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THESAURUS
■ In a court
▪ defendant the person who is on trial for a crime
▪ the defence British English , the defense American English the lawyers who are working for the defendant
▪ the prosecution the lawyers who are trying to prove that the defendant is guilty
▪ judge the official in charge of a court who decides how criminals should be punished
▪ jury a group of people, usually 12 people, who listen to the facts and decide whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty
▪ witness someone who describes in a court of law what he or she knows about a crime
▪ testimony a formal statement made in a court of law about a particular situation or action
▪ verdict the decision of the jury as to whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty