When a jury, for either a civil or criminal case, goes into the jury room to discuss the evidence and testimony and reach a verdict
For the purposes of the Act's exception for advice from officials, "deliberations" refers to a discussion of the reasons for and against a future action by an employee or officer of a public body prior to a decision being made See also substance of deliberations
1 The process by which the reasons for and against a verdict are weighed by jurors While such verdict should be the consensus of the judgments of each juror, the purpose of deliberation is to allow opinions to be changed by conference in the jury room BACK TO TOP
If you say or do something with deliberation, you do it slowly and carefully. Fred spoke with deliberation My mother folded her coat across the back of the chair with careful deliberation
The action of a jury to determine the guilt or innocence, or the sentence, of a defendant In the context of the functioning of a jury it means that a properly formed jury comprised of the number of qualified persons required by law while in the secrecy of the jury room analyze, discuss, and weigh the evidence which was presented in the case in order to reach a verdict based upon the applicable law
the trait of thoughtfulness in action or decision; "he was a man of judicial deliberation" careful consideration; "a little deliberation would have deterred them" (usually plural) discussion of all sides of a question; "the deliberations of the jury