challenging a jury
Preserved but no longer current.
This may be to object to all the jurors from some informality in the way they have been "arrayed" or empanelled, or to one or more of the jurors, from some real or supposed disqualification or bias of judg- ment. In the first case it is a challenge to the array, and this must be based on some default of the sheriff, or his officer who arrayed the panel.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “challenging a jury” mean?
This may be to object to all the jurors from some informality in the way they have been "arrayed" or empanelled, or to one or more of the jurors, from some real or supposed disqualification or bias of judg- ment. In the first case it is a challenge to the array, and this must be based on some default of the sheriff, or his officer who arrayed the panel.
Is “challenging a jury” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.