petty jury

American  

noun

1. (in a civil or criminal proceeding) a jury, usually of 12 persons, impaneled to determine the facts and render a verdict pursuant to the court's instructions on the law.

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petty jury British  

noun

1. a variant spelling of petit jury

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Other Word Forms

• petty juror
  noun

Etymology

Origin of petty jury

First recorded in 1680–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

petty jury

The petty jury simply moved that forward - a group of 12 people were now being asked to determine guilt.

From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2019

But on 26 January, 1219, King Henry III issued an edict - the trial by petty jury was born in England.

From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2019

On the twenty-six bills that were found, three persons only were pronounced guilty by the petty jury, and these three received their pardon from the government.

From Lives of the Necromancers by William Godwin

On that day, a petty jury was returned at Westminster, for the trial of Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, Sir William Brereton, and Mark Smeton.

From History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth. Vol. II. by James Anthony Froude

On the trial before the petty jury the procedure and the rules of evidence differ in very few points from an ordinary civil case.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 6 "Coucy-le-Château" to "Crocodile" by Various