PETIT JURY

also called trial jury, common jury, or traverse jury a group chosen from the citizenry of a district to try a question of fact. It is the standard jury used in civil and criminal trials-at the request of either party to a civil action and only at the defendant's request in a criminal action. It is distinguished from the grand jury (q.v.), which formulates accusations, whereas the petit jury tests the accuracy of such accusations by standards of proof. Generally, the petit jury's function is to deliberate questions of fact, questions of law being left to the trial judge; however, the distinction is often blurred. The petit jury has less discretion than is often imagined. The trial judge supervises it, rules on what evidence it may view and on what laws are applicable, and sometimes directs its verdict. If the judge deems that the jury has grossly ignored the weight of the evidence, he or she can set aside their verdict. Although petit juries in England and the United States have historically contained 12 members, there is no uniform number. Numerical requirements for a valid verdict vary (e.g., unanimity in the United States, a majority in Scotland and Italy, two-thirds in Portugal), as do subject areas of operation. In the United States, for example, juvenile defendants may not request a jury, and in England juries have been eliminated from civil cases. Outside England and the United States the petit jury is declining. In nations having civil rather than common law, the jury, where found, is used only for criminal trials. Germany and France have a mixed tribunal of judges and jurors, and Japan abolished its petit jury in 1943 after a brief experimental period for civil cases. Scholars disagree on the time and place of the trial jury's birth. Some suggest that King Alfred the Great of England initiated the institution in the 9th century. Others trace it to the Norman Conquest of England (1066). The petit jury emerged as a distinct form when the Articles of Visitation in England (1194) separated accusatory and trial juries-the grand and petit juries of today. The future of the petit jury is uncertain. Even in England and the United States it is hotly debated. Proponents argue that the trial jury is a bulwark against tyranny, being drawn from the populace at large. Detractors insist the system is inconvenient and clumsy and that modern legal complexities are beyond the competence of most petit jurors. Court backlogs continue to underscore the need for greater efficiency in the administration of justice. See also voir dire.