Blue Ribbon Jury

A group of highly qualified persons selected by a court on the request of either party to a lawsuit to decide complex and specialized disputes.

A blue ribbon jury is also known as a special jury. From the earliest period of Common Law, such juries were used to try cases beyond the understanding of the average person so that justice could be administered as fairly as possible. A number of states still provide for blue ribbon juries by statute. It is not an absolute right in all jurisdictions, however, but rather a matter wherein the court can exercise its discretion.

The use of a blue ribbon jury does not violate the constitutional guarantees of trial by a fair and impartial jury or equal protection of laws if the process by which its jurors are selected is neither Arbitrary nor invidiously discriminatory.

Cross-references

Due Process of Law.

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blue ribbon jury n. a jury selected from prominent, well-educated citizens, sometimes to investigate a particular problem such as civic corruption. Use of blue ribbon juries in criminal cases violates the right to have a jury of one's peers.