How Cases Move Through Federal Courts
Civil Cases
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Jury trials
In a jury trial, it is the jury's job to decide what happened and to apply the legal standards the judge tells them to apply to reach a verdict. The plaintiff presents evidence supporting its view of the case, and the defendant presents evidence rebutting the plaintiff's evidence or supporting its own view of the case. From these presentations, the jury must decide what actually happened and apply the law to those facts. The jury never decides what law applies to the case; that is the role of the judge. For example, in a discrimination case in which the plaintiff alleged that his or her workplace was a hostile environment, the judge would tell the jury the legal standard for a hostile environment. The jury would have to decide whether the plaintiff’s description of events was true and whether those events met the legal standard. In a civil case, a trial jury, or petit jury, may consist of six to twelve jurors. |
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