Grand Assize Law and Legal Definition
Grand assize refers to the great jury, instituted by Henry II. It is a jury composed of sixteen knights, before whom a tenant or defendant in a writ of right might have a trial, if he chose this course in preference to a trial by battlle.
The grand assize was very powerful. It had the authority to identify suspects, present evidence personally held by individual jurors, and determine whether to make an accusation.
