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 jus-
tice 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 vio-
late 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.
