jury, jurie

[Fr. jurée, prop. the fem. of juré, pa. par. of jurer =to swear; Lat. juro.] 1. A number of men selected according to law, impaneled, and sworn to inquire into and to decide upon facts, and to give their true verdict according to the evidence legally laid before them. In Courts of Justice there are three kinds of juries, grand juries, special juries, and petit or common juries. [For grand jury, see under GRAND.] Petit or common juries and special juries consist of twelve men each, and the verdicts given must be unanimous. They are appointed both in civil and criminal cases. A special jury is resorted to in cases of too great importance to be decided by a petit jury. After the evidence in a cause has been given, and summed up by the judge, the jury retire to consider their verdict, and in order to avoid delay and abuses are kept without drink, fire, or light, unle by permi ion of the judge. In Scotland the number of the jury in criminal cases is fifteen, and the verdict is determined by the voice of the majority. 2. Hist .: It has been much disputed whether the germ of the modern jury system was of Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. Those who hold the former view attribute it to King Alfred, of England, about A. D. 886. It does not seem to have been closely connected with the appointment of twelve compurgators for canonical purgations. The establishment of proper jury trials seems to have been under Henry II., late in the twelfth century. It was well rooted in the time of King John, and is insisted on in Magna Charta, as the great bulwark of liberty. In 1353, under Edward III., juries impaneled to try aliens were to consist half of foreigners. Various laws have since been pa ed on the subject of juries, but the changes made have not been of e ential importance. "It is true, the terms of fury and verdict were introduced by the Normans, with many others in the style and practice of our laws; but the trials by twelve men, with that e ential circumstance of their unanimous agreement, was not only used among the Saxons and Normans, but is known to be as ancient in Sweden."-Temple: Introd. to Hist. England. 3. A body of men selected to award prizes at public shows, exhibitions, . To hang a jury : To cause a disagreement of opinion and prevent the return of a verdict. "'At least two of those men,' he said, pointing to the jurors who still sat in the jury-box, 'committed perjury when they said that they could try Dan Coughlin without prejudice. I can't tell you who those men are, but they were well trained to answer properly any questions put to them, and they are there to hang the jury instead of Dan Coughlin."-Chicago Record , Nov. 28, 1893, Jury-box, 8. The inclosed place in which the jury sits in a court of justice. Jury-list, 8. Law : A list of persons liable to be summoned to attend as jurymen. Jury-proce , s. The writ for the summoning of a jury.