What is a petit jury and what is their job?

Answer 1

There are two types of juries. Petit and Grand. A petit jury is one that renders a verdict in a civil or criminal trial level court case. It is to be distinguished from a "grand jury", which hands down indictments prior to criminal trials. A petit (small) jury consists of 12 persons and sometimes, in civil cases only, just 6. The grand (large) jury typically consists of 23 members but this may differ from state to state depending on the laws of the state in which the grand jury sits
A "petit jury" is a trial jury. It is their duty to to hear evidence and return a conviction or an acquittal.

Answer 2

The correct name is PETIT jury (with no 'e' on the end).Petit juries decide factual issues at a trial or inquest. They are the "finders of fact." That's why they are usually called "trial juries." However, not all trials are jury trials and in both civil and criminal cases, sometimes a jury is not used or is only used for some of the factual issues and not others. Trials which are conducted before a judge alone are called "bench" trials and the judge then determines the fact issues instead of a jury.

Petit juries differ from the larger grand juries, which hear evidence in secret and lodge indictments) in criminal matters.

Answer 3

hears evidence after arrest and arraignment of the accused.

Clarification: A Petit Jury is a trial jury which hears cases (both civil and criminal) - as opposed to a Grand Jury which does not hear cases but, instead, conducts investigations and hands down indictments.

Answer 4

A Petit trial jury is a group of people who are brought together to hear the facts in a civil or a criminal trial. They are then tasked with coming up with a verdict.