Jury trial

In common law jurisdictions, the Jury trial is the process by which a body of citizens (peers) is charged with the responsibility for listening to a dispute, evaluating the evidence presented, deciding on the facts, and making a decision in accordance with the rules of law (jury instructions)that govern the action before them.

Trial by jury is rarely used in civil law jurisdictions, although many civil law jurisdictions will have lay assessors.

The vast majority of criminal cases in the United States are not settled by trial by jury but rather by plea bargain. When the facts of the case are not in dispute, both prosecutors and defendants have a strong interest in resolving the criminal case by negotiation rather than endure the expense and uncertainty of a jury trial.

Jury trials tend to occur where the crime is extremely serious, and there is therefore no possibility for the defendant to plead to a lesser charge or when the facts of the case are under dispute.

Because these types of cases tend to be high profile, the general public tends to overestimate the degree to which jury trials are used.