<P> Besides petit juries for jury trials and grand juries for issuing indictments, juries are sometimes used in non-legal or quasi-legal contexts . Blue ribbon juries attend to civic matters as an ad - hoc body in the executive branch of a government . Outside government, a jury or panel of judges may make determinations in competition, such as at a wine tasting, art exhibition, talent contest, or reality game show . These types of contests are juried competitions . </P> <P> Blue ribbon juries are juries selected from prominent, well - educated citizens, sometimes to investigate a particular problem such as civic corruption . Blue ribbon juries cannot be used in real trials, which require constitutional safeguards to produce a jury of one's peers . The blue - ribbon jury is intended to overcome the problems of ordinary juries in interpreting complex technical or commercial questions . In the United States blue - ribbon juries were provided for by statutes, the terms varying by jurisdiction . </P> <P> Each state may determine the extent to which the use of a jury is used . The use of a jury is optional for civil trials in any Australian state . The use of a jury in criminal trials is generally by unanimous verdict of 12 lay members of the public . Some States provide exceptions such as majority (11 - to - 1 or 10 - to - 2) verdicts where a jury cannot otherwise reach a verdict . Sometimes a state law may allow an accused person to elect to use a judge - only trial rather than the default jury provision . </P> <P> The Constitution of Australia provides in section 80 that' the trial on indictment of any offence against any law of the Commonwealth shall be by jury' . The Commonwealth can determine which offences are' on indictment' . It would be entirely consistent with the Constitution that a homicide offence could be tried not' on indictment,' or conversely that a simple Assault could be tried' on indictment .' This interpretation has been criticised a' mockery' of the section, rendering it useless . </P>

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