the.com/verdict slip
A scrap of paper holding a stranger's fate, decided by twelve people who'd rather be elsewhere.
means The official slip of paper on which a jury records its decision, handed to the court to announce the outcome of a trial.
from "Verdict" comes from Latin "vere dictum" — "truly said" — passing through Anglo-Norman French "verdit" into English, where a jury's finding became literally the "true saying." "Slip" is the humble Germanic word for a small narrow strip of paper, related to words meaning a thin cutting or sliver. So the term marries a lofty Latin promise of truth to a plain little scrap — a grand declaration delivered on the cheapest possible stationery.
- unanimous demand
- In most US criminal trials, all twelve must agree
- sealed delivery
- Often handed to the bailiff, never read aloud by jurors
- hung jury
- A blank slip can mean a costly do-over trial
- foreperson signs
- One juror's signature makes the whole thing official