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peremptory challenge

American

[puh-remp-tuh-ree chal-inj] / pəˈrɛmp tə ri ˈtʃæl ɪndʒ /

noun

Law.

a formal objection to the service of a juror by a party to a criminal prosecution or a civil action that requires no showing of cause.

Etymology

Origin of peremptory challenge

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He also said that there was “nothing here … that would any way bias me,” but he was eventually struck by the prosecution with a peremptory challenge.

From Slate • Apr. 18, 2024

To save a peremptory challenge, the prosecutor might ask the judge to remove that potential juror for expressing doubt about his ability to follow the law.

From Salon • Apr. 15, 2024

The prosecutor used a peremptory challenge to dismiss Byng.

From Washington Post • Dec. 18, 2021

The Washington Supreme Court did so in 2018, saying judges don’t have to find purposeful discrimination to deny a peremptory challenge, and that challenges based on “implicit, institutional, and unconscious biases” can be rejected.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 5, 2021

As he did so he heard a second, hoarser cry, succeeded by the heavy tramp of hurrying feet, and then a peremptory challenge.

From Phantom Wires A Novel by Brown, Arthur William

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023