A special verdict is a verdict in which the jury gives its findings on particular factual issues, without necessarily stating a general conclusion on which party should win the whole case.
Usually, the court submits to the jury in written forms questions with regard to factual issues in a case. The court also supplements the questions with detailed instructions. Based on the answers of the jury, the court then applies the law to and draws legal implications from the facts.
Compared to a general verdict, a special verdict can provide many benefits in a complex case. The process helps clarify the jury’s reasoning, answer pertaining issues more definitively, and specify the legal path to the final judgment. This is particularly helpful when it comes to collateral estoppel or issue preclusion. For example, if a case ends up with a general verdict without an obvious path to the decision, the issues in the case are not precluded in a later case in many jurisdictions. However, if a case has a special verdict on some issues, these issues would likely be precluded in a later case.
[Last updated in July of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]