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.
originRomans used juries over 2,000 years ago
unanimoussome U.S. verdicts demand all twelve agree
nullificationjuries can legally ignore the law entirely
sequestrationhigh-stakes juries get locked away from the world
grand jurya separate one decides if charges happen at all