TRIAL - The Law Mind Legal Dictionary

TRIALAuthored

The Law Mind • 1581 words

Definition

A trial is the formal judicial examination of issues in dispute between parties — whether issues of fact, issues of law, or both — before a competent tribunal, conducted according to law, for the purpose of resolving those issues and reaching a determination. It is the core mechanism by which courts decide contested matters. The term encompasses the full range of proceedings in which evidence is received, arguments are heard, and a binding decision is rendered.

Two principal forms dominate: the jury trial, in which a panel of laypersons determines questions of fact while the judge controls questions of law; and the bench trial, in which the judge serves as both factfinder and law-applier. Both are trials in the full legal sense.

The word applies across the spectrum of civil and criminal proceedings. In criminal law, a trial is the proceeding at which the state must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt against a defendant who is entitled to contest the charges. In civil law, a trial resolves disputed claims between parties through a structured presentation of evidence and argument. The constitutional dimensions of the right to trial — including the rights to a speedy trial, public trial, and jury trial in criminal matters — layer additional significance onto the procedural core.

Common Language

Modern common usage (Wiktionary): An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are; the testing of a product or procedure; a research study to test a hypothesis.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): The act of trying or testing in any manner; any effort or exertion of strength for the purpose of ascertaining what can be done or effected; examination by a test; proof; experiment.

The common-language definitions focus on testing, experiment, and evaluation in a general sense — a trial run, a clinical trial, a trial by fire. The legal definition is narrower and structural: a formal, tribunal-supervised proceeding governed by procedural rules, with binding legal consequences for the parties. The metaphorical overlap (testing whether guilt or liability is established) is real but should not mislead a researcher into treating "trial" as an informal or open-ended process. In law, a trial has defined stages, evidentiary rules, and constitutional protections that transform the general concept of "testing" into a highly regulated institution.

Common Confusion

TRIAL VS. HEARING VS. PROCEEDING
Not every court appearance is a trial. A hearing resolves discrete procedural or preliminary matters — a motion to suppress, a bail hearing, a sentencing — without adjudicating the ultimate merits of a case. A proceeding is a broader term encompassing any step in a legal action. A trial is specifically the stage at which the merits are examined and the primary issues of fact or law are determined. In historical sources, "examination" and "hearing" were sometimes used loosely in ways that blur this line; context is essential.

Core Elements

The historical dictionaries converge on three essential components:

COMPETENT TRIBUNAL: The proceeding must occur before a court or body having jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties. A purported trial before a body without jurisdiction is a nullity.

ISSUES JOINED: There must be issues of fact or law formally in dispute. A trial resolves contested matters; uncontested matters are disposed of by other mechanisms (default judgment, consent decree, stipulation).

EXAMINATION ACCORDING TO LAW: The proceeding must follow established legal procedure — rules of evidence, notice to parties, opportunity to be heard. This element connects trial to due process requirements.

Recognized Forms

/SUBTYPES
TRIAL BY JURY: The traditional common-law form. A panel of laypersons determines questions of fact; the judge instructs on the law and controls procedure. Protected in the Sixth Amendment (criminal) and Seventh Amendment (civil) of the U.S. Constitution.

BENCH TRIAL (TRIAL BY THE COURT): The judge sits alone as factfinder. Parties may waive jury rights, or the matter may be one in which no jury right attaches (equity, certain statutory claims).

TRIAL BY CERTIFICATE: A historical mode of trial in which the issue was determined by the certificate of some official whose statement was conclusive on the point — used in certain matters where the issue was of a kind uniquely within an officer's knowledge.

TRIAL DE NOVO: A new, independent trial on the same issues, not a review of the prior record. Common when appealing from inferior courts (magistrate courts, small claims courts) to courts of general jurisdiction.

BIFURCATED TRIAL: A trial divided into separate phases, most commonly separating the liability phase from the damages phase, or guilt from sentencing in criminal matters.

Why It Matters in Research

For researchers navigating the Law Mind corpus, "trial" carries both a technical procedural meaning and a cluster of constitutional rights that evolved significantly across the historical period covered by the shelf sources. Several navigational points are essential:

Historical sources may use "trial" in contexts that predate modern procedural codes. The shift from common-law pleading systems — in which issues were narrowly joined through formal exchanges of pleadings before trial commenced — to code pleading (after the New York Field Code of 1848) and later the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (1938) changed what "trial" encompassed and when it began. Sources from Bouvier's era describe a more rigidly demarcated process than modern procedure recognizes.

The distinction between law and equity matters enormously in historical research. Bouvier's note that "trial" in one statutory context referred specifically to jury trial of issues of fact at law, while "final hearing" referred to equity proceedings before a judge, reflects a division that modern merged procedure has largely collapsed. Historical sources treating trial by jury and equity hearings as categorically different institutions are correct for their time.

The constitutional right to trial — speedy, public, by jury — developed through case law well after most of the shelf dictionaries were written. The encyclopedia entries on speedy trial (Sixth Amendment and Speedy Trial Act) and public trial provide the doctrinal development that the historical dictionaries do not address.

Rapalje & Lawrence's entry on "cases tried" addresses the procedural vehicle for seeking a new trial after verdict — the "case made" or bill of exceptions — which was the standard mechanism for preserving error for appellate review before modern motion practice. Researchers encountering this in historical materials should distinguish it from the trial itself.

In criminal proceedings, trial is the constitutional moment at which double jeopardy attaches (jeopardy attaches when the jury is sworn, or when the first witness is sworn in a bench trial). This timing question — when trial "begins" for constitutional purposes — does not appear in the historical shelf sources but is critical for researchers working with criminal law materials.

Historical Dictionary Support

The shelf sources are unusually consistent on the core definition, which is itself notable: all sources from Black's through Anderson's converge on the formulation that a trial is the examination before a competent tribunal, according to the laws of the land, of the facts put in issue in a cause, for the purpose of determining such issue. The language tracks directly from Bouvier's citation to 4 Mason 232 through both editions of Black's, suggesting a settled, canonical formulation by the late nineteenth century.

Anderson's Dictionary of Law adds a useful gloss: "In its general use, the investigation and decision of a matter in issue between parties before a competent tribunal" — broadening slightly from "examination" to "investigation and decision," which captures that trial encompasses both the evidentiary process and the resulting determination.

Bouvier's is the richest source for historical subtypes, specifically identifying trial by certificate as a recognized mode and drawing the law/equity distinction between "trial" and "final hearing" that is essential for reading historical federal practice materials.

Rapalje & Lawrence's material on "cases tried" is procedural context rather than a direct definition of trial, but it illuminates the motion-for-new-trial practice that was the primary vehicle for post-verdict relief in the era these dictionaries describe.

None of the shelf sources addresses the constitutional right to trial as a doctrinal category. They treat trial as a procedural institution, not as a constitutional guarantee. Researchers who need the rights dimension must look to the encyclopedia entries and post-Reconstruction case law.

Jurisdictional Note

The right to jury trial in civil cases varies significantly by jurisdiction. The Seventh Amendment right (preserving jury trial in suits at common law exceeding twenty dollars) applies in federal court but has not been incorporated against the states. State constitutions provide jury trial rights in civil matters with varying scope. In criminal matters, the Sixth Amendment jury right applies to "serious offenses" (those carrying potential imprisonment exceeding six months); petty offenses may be tried without a jury even in federal court.

Encyclopedia Cross-Reference

Bench Trials (The Law Mind Criminal Law Encyclopedia)
Right to Speedy Trial — Sixth Amendment and Speedy Trial Act (The Law Mind Criminal Law Encyclopedia)
Right to Public Trial (The Law Mind Criminal Law Encyclopedia)

TRIALmain

Black's Law Dictionary • 1891

The examination before a com- petent tribunal, according to the law of the land, of the facts or law put in issue in a cause, for the purpose of determining such is- sue. 32 Cal. 267; 4 Mason, 232; 39 Ind. 1. A trial is the judicial examination of the issues between the parties, whether they be issues of law or of fact. Code N. Y. § 252; Code N. C. § 397. The examination of a cause, civil or crim- inal, before a judge who has jurisdiction over it, according to the laws of the land. 1 Inst. 124.

TRIALmain

Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) • 1910

The examination before a competent tribunal, according to the law of the land, of the facts or law put in issue in a cause, for the purpose of determining such issue. : . A trial is the judicial examination of the issues between the parties, whether they be issues of ‘law or of fact. Code N. Y. § 252; Code N. C. § 397. ‘The examination of a cause, civil or criminal, before a judge who has jurisdiction over it, according to the laws of the land. See Finn v. Spagnoli, 67 Cal. 330, 7 Pac. 746; In re Chauncey, 32 Hun (N. Y.) 481; Bullard v. Kuhl, 54 Wis. 545, 11 N. W. 801; Spencer v. Thistle, 138 Neb. 229, 138 N. W. 214; State v. Brown, 63 Mo. 444; State v. Clifton, 57 ‘Kan. 449, 46 Pac. 715; State v. Bergman, 37 Minn. 407, 34 N. W. 737; Home L. Ins. Co. v. Dunn, 19 Wall. 224, 22 L. Ed. 68; Crane v. Reeder, 28 Mich. 535, 15 Am. Rep. 223. —Mistrial. See that titlc—New trial. A new trial is a re-examination of an issue of fact in the same court after a trial and decision by a jury or court or by referees. Code Civ. Proc. Cal. § 656.. A new trial is a re-examination of the issue in the same court. before another jury, after a verdict has been given. Pen. Code Cal. $1179. <A new trial is a re-examination in the same court of an issue of fact, or some part or portions thereof, after the verdict by a ju report of a referee, or a decision by the cou Rev. Code Iowa 1880, § 2837.—New trial paper. In English practice. .A paper containing a list of causes in which rules ntsi have been obtained for a new trial, or for entering a verdict in place of a nonsuit. or for entering judgment' non obstante veredicto, or for otherwise varying or setting aside proceedings which have taken place at ntss prius. These are called on for Argument in the order in which they stand in the’ paper, on days appointed by the judges for the purpose. Brown.—Public trial. trial held in public, in the presence of the public. .or in a place accessible and open to the attendance of the public at large, or of persons who may properly be admitted. “By this [public trial] is not meant that every person who sees fit shall in all cases be permitted to attend criminal trials, because there are many cases where, from the character of the charge and the nature of the evidence by which it is to be supported, the motives to attend the trial, on the part of portions of the community, would be of the worst character, and where a regard to public morals and public decency would require that at least the young be excluded from hearing and witnessing the evidences of human depravity which the trial must necessarily bring to hight: The requirement of a public trial is for the benefit of the accused: that the public may see he ig fairly dealt with and not unjustly condéinned. and that the preseuce of interested spec- tators may keep his triers keenly alive to a sen of their responsibility and to the importance o their functions; and the requirement is fairly observed if, without partiality or favoritism. a reasonable proportion of the public is suffered to attend, notwithstanding that those persons whose presence could he of no service to the accused, and who would only be drawn thither by a prurient curiosity. are excladed altogether.” oley, Const. Lim. *312. And see People -v. Hall, 51 App. Div. 57. 64 N. Y. Supp. 433; People v. Swafford. 65 Cal. 223, 3 Bac. 809. Part Citas! trial. See that title-—Separate trial. ee SEPARATE.—State t - See STATE.—Trial at bar. <A species of trial now seldom resorted to, ree dibs {in cases where the matter in dispute is one of great importance and difficulty. It is a trial which takes place before all the judges at the bar of the court in which the action is brought. Brown. See 2 Tidd, Pr. 747; Steph. Pl. 84.—Trial at nisi prius. In practice. ‘The ordinary kind of trial which takes place at the sittings, assizes, or circuit, before a single judge. 2 Tidd, Pr. 751. 819.—Trial by certificate. A form of trial allowed in cases where the evidence of the person certifying was the only proper criterion of the point in dispute. Under such circumstances, the issue might be determined by the certificate alone, because, if sent to a jury, it would be conclusive upon them, and therefore their intervention was unnecessary. ‘Comlins.—Trial and assize is a peculiar mode of trial alowéd in writs of right. See ASSIZE; GRAND ASSIZE.—Trial by inspection or examination is a form of trial in which the judges of the court, upon the testimony of their own senses, decide the point in dispute—Trial by jury. A trial in which the issues of fact nre to be determined by the verdict of a jury of twelve men, duly selected, impaneled, and sworn. Lhe terms “jury” and “trial by. jury” are, and for ages have been, well known in the language of the law. They were used at the adoption of the constitution, and always, it is believed. before that time, and almost always since, in a single sense. <A jury for the trial of a cause was a body of twelve men, described’ as upright. well-qualified, and lawful men, disinterested and impartial, not of kin nor personal dependents of either of the parties, having their homes within the jurisdictional limits of the court, drawn and selected by officers free from all bies in favor of or apne either party, duly impaneled under the direction of a competent court, sworn to render a true verdict according to the law and the evidence given them. who. after héaring the parties and their evidence, and receiving the instructions of the court relative to the law involved in the trial, and deliberating, when necessary, apart from all extraneous influences, must return their uhanimous ver dict upon the issue submitted to them. All the books of the law describe a trial jury substantially as we have stated it; and a “trial by jury” is a trial by such a. v so constitutand conducted. State v. McClear, 11 Nev. . And see Gunn v. Union R. Co., 23 R. [. 289, 49 Atl. 999: State v. Hamey, 16S Mo. 167, 67 S. W. 620, 57 L. R. A. 846; Capital Traction Co. v. Hof, 174 U. 8. 1, 19 Sup. Ct. 580, 43 L. Ed. 873; Lommen v. Minneapolis Gaslight Co.. 65 Minn. 196, 68 N. W. 53, 33 L. R. A. 437, 60 Am. St. Rep. 450; Fos v. Dutcher, 83 N. Y. 242: Vaughn v Neade, 30 Mo. 600; Ward v. Farwell, 97 Ill. 612.—T rial by proviso. A proceeding allowed where the eae in an action desists from prosecuting is suit, and does not bring it to trial in convenient time. The defendant, in such case, may take out the venire facias to the sheriff, containing these words, ‘“‘proviso quod,” etc., é. €., Provided that. If plaintiff take out any writ to that purpose, the sheriff shall summon but one jury on them both. This is called “going to trial by proviso.” Jacob, tit. “Proviso."— by the record. A form of trial resorted to where issue is taken upon a plea of nul ticl record, in which case the party asserting the existence of a record as pleaded is bound to produce it in. court on a day assigned. If the record is forthcoming, the issue is tried by inspection and examination of it. If the record is not produced, judgment is given for his adversary. 3 Bl. Comm. 330.—Trial by wager of battel. This was a species of trial introduced into England, among other Norman customs, by William the Conqueror, in which the person. accused fought with his accuser. under the apprehension that Heaven would give the victory to him who was in the right. 3 BI. Comm. 337-341.—Trial by wager of law. in old English Jaw. A method of trial. where the defendant, coming into court, made oath that he did not owe the claim demanded of him, and eleven of his neighbors, as compurgators, swore that they believed him to speak the truth. 3 Bl. Comm. 343. See WAGER or LAW.—Trial witnesses. The name “trial per testes’ has been used for a trial without the intervention of a jury, is the only method of trial known to the civil law, and is adopted by depositions in chancery. ‘'he judge is thus left to form, in his own breast, his sentence upon the credit of the witnesses examined. But it is very rarely used at common Jaw. Tomlins.—Trial de novo. A new. trial or retrial had in an appellate court in which the whole case is gone into as if. no trial whatever had been had in the court below. See Karcher vy. Green, 8 Houst. (Del.) 163, 32 Atl. 225: Ex parte Morales (Tex. €r. App.) 53 S. W. 108; Shultz v. Lempert, 55 Tex. 277.—Trial jury. ‘The jury participating in the trial of a given case; or a jury summoned and impaneled for the trial of a case, and in this sense a petit jury as distinguished from a grand jury—Trial List. <A list of cases marked down for trial for any one term.—Trial with assessors. Admiralty. actions involving nautical questions, e. fi: actions of collision, are generally tried in gland before a judge, vis ae Masters sitting as assessors. Roec. m. 179. Triatio ibi semper debet fieri, ubi ‘jauratores meliorem possunt habere notitiam. Trial ought always to be had where the jurors can have the best information. 7 Coke, 1. ? oe ae Jt

TRIALmain

Rapalje & Lawrence • 1888

A case made by the unsuccessful party on a jury trial upon which to found a motion to set aside the verdict and obtain a new trial. CASES, (distinguished from "causes"). 6 Abb. (N. Y.) Pr. 83; 26 Barb. (N. Υ.) 218. (include special proceedings and equity suits). 6 Abb. (N. Y.) Pr. 83; 26 Barb. (N. Y.) 218, 221. (in U. S. Constitution, Art. III. ? 2). Baldw. (U. S.) 394, 544; 3 Cranch (U. S.) 268; 6 Wheat. (U. S.) 264, 379; 9 Id. 887; 32 Iowa 223. CASH.-FRENCH: caisse, a chest. Money; ready money, as distinguished from securities and property convertible into money; that which circulates as money. 232. CASH, (defined). 1 McGloin (La.) 104; 9 Johns. (N. Y.) 120. (bank notes are). Amb. 68; 3 Atk. (bank notes, when considered). 19 Johns. (N. Y.) 120, 144. (bank notes are not). 3 Halst. (N.J.) (bequest of). 1 Hayw. (N. C.) 228, 172. 232; 11 Ves. 660. (in contract, does not include gold dust). 1 Cal. 45. Eq. 210. (in notice of sale). 13 Rich. (S. C.) (in a will, distinction between money or). 1 Johns. (N. Y.) Ch. 238. (sale for, defined). 8 Vt. 255. (sale of land by sheriff considered a cash sale). 2 Watts (Pa.) 363. (synonymous with "money" and "bank notes"). 1 Burr. 457. (treasury notes are not). 3 Conn. 534. (where check credited as). 10 Wheat. (U. S.) 347. 68. (receipt for note as). 5 Johns. (N.Y.)

TRIALn.

Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913

The act of trying or testing in any manner. Specifically: -- Any effort or exertion of strength for the purpose of ascertaining what can be done or effected. [I] defy thee to the trial of mortal fight. Milton. The act of testing by experience; proof; test. Repeated trials of the issues and events of actions. Bp. Wilkins. Examination by a test; experiment, as in chemistry, metallurgy, etc. The state of being tried or tempted; exposure to suffering that tests strength, patience, faith, or the like; affliction or temptation that exercises and proves the graces or virtues of men. Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings. Heb. xi. 36. That which tries or afflicts; that which harasses; that which tries the character or principles; that which tempts to evil; as, his child's conduct was a sore trial. Every station is exposed to some trials. Rogers. The formal examination of the matter in issue in a cause before a competent tribunal; the mode of determining a question of fact in a court of law; the examination, in legal form, of the facts in issue in a cause pending before a competent tribunal, for the purpose of determining such issue.

trialnoun

Wiktionary (English) • 2026

Wiktionary contributors • CC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
Extracted and formatted for display by Law Mind. Source link opens the current Wiktionary page and its contributor history; it is not a frozen copy of this extract.

An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are. | An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are. | The testing of a product or procedure. | An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are. | A research study to test the effectiveness and safety of a drug, medical procedure, etc. | An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are. | An event in which athletes’ or animals’ abilities are tested as they compete for a place on a team, or to move on to the next level of a championship, for example. | An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are. | A piece of ware used to test the heat of a kiln. | An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are. | An internal examination set by Eton College. | An occasion on which a person or thing is tested to find out how well they perform or how suitable they are. | An occasion on which armies or individuals meet in combat. | A meeting or series of meetings in a court of law at which evidence is presented to a judge (and sometimes a jury) to allow them to decide on a legal matter (especially whether an accused person is guilty of a crime). | A difficult or annoying experience or person; (especially religion) such an experience seen as a test of faith and piety. | The action of trying (to do) something, especially more than once. (This sense is still current in the expression trial and error.)

trialnoun

Wiktionary (English) • 2026

The trial number.

trialadj

Wiktionary (English) • 2026

Pertaining to a trial or test. | Attempted on a provisional or experimental basis.

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