empanel

American  

[em-pan-l] / ɛmˈpæn l /

verb (used with object)

empaneled, empaneling, empanelled, empanelling

1. impanel.

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empanel British  

/ ɪmˈpænəl /

verb

1. to enter on a list (names of persons to be summoned for jury service)

2. to select (a jury) from the names on such a list

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Other Word Forms

• empanelment
  noun
• unempaneled
  adjective
• unempanelled
  adjective

Explanation

To empanel is to select a group of people for a jury. If you're empaneled, you're part of a jury. Congratulations. Jury duty is one of those things all adults have to do as members of a democracy — show up in court to possibly be a member of a jury in a trial. When you're added to a jury, you're empaneled. This is an old-fashioned word that comes from an older sense of panel, which was the paper on which names of jury members were written. Lots of people report for jury duty but aren't empaneled, meaning they aren't selected.

Example Sentences

He said he could see no good reason to empanel a jury.

From BBC • Jan. 14, 2022

The district attorney said he has also asked the president judge to empanel an investigative grand jury “to aid the investigation of the officers’ use of deadly force.”

From Seattle Times • Sep. 27, 2021

New York Attorney General Letitia James will empanel a grand jury in her investigation into the death Daniel Prude in Rochester, she announced Saturday.

From Fox News • Sep. 5, 2020

“There is simply no way that the federal courts could empanel enough juries to adjudicate all those proceedings,” Justice Alito wrote, adding “the whole concept of supervised release will come crashing down.”

From Washington Times • Jun. 26, 2019

According to Hickock, the “hostile atmosphere” in Garden City had made it impossible to empanel an unbiased jury, and therefore a change of venue should have been granted.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote