In our courts of law, 12 members of a jury (decides,decide) a defendant's gulilt or innocence.
The subject is "members" -- which would you say:
members decides...
or
members decide...
The subject, "members," is plural, so a plural verb, "decide," is needed.
In our courts of law, 12 members of a jury decide a defendant's guilt or innocence.
To determine whether to use "decides" or "decide" in this sentence, we need to understand the subject-verb agreement. In English grammar, the verb should agree with the subject in terms of number (singular or plural).
In this case, the subject is "12 members of a jury." The number 12 indicates a plural form. Therefore, the correct verb form to use is "decide," which is the plural form of the verb.
If the sentence referred to a single member, we would use the singular form "decides." For example, "One member of the jury decides a defendant's guilt or innocence."
Remember, when in doubt, it's helpful to identify the subject and check whether it is singular or plural to determine the correct verb form to use.