the.com/jury

twelve strangers who'd dodge each other at a party deciding your entire future together

means A group of people sworn to hear evidence in a legal case and deliver a verdict, or to judge entries in a competition.

from From Anglo-French 'juree,' meaning an oath or a body of sworn people, rooted in Latin 'iurare,' to swear (from 'ius,' law or right). The 'jur-' here is the same one swearing through 'perjury' (false oath) and 'conjure' (to swear together) — so a jury is, quite literally, a clutch of the sworn.

origin
Romans used juries over 2,000 years ago
unanimous
some U.S. verdicts demand all twelve agree
nullification
juries can legally ignore the law entirely
sequestration
high-stakes juries get locked away from the world
grand jury
a separate one decides if charges happen at all
for instance

harvey weinstein trial jury — 12 jurors in manhattan convicted weinstein of rape and sexual assault in 2020

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