Does "trial" collocate with the verbs "win" and "lose": can you "win/lose a trial"?

I know that "case" collocates with the verbs "win" and "lose". But do these verbs also collocate with the noun "trial"? Are the phrases "win/lose a trial" and "win/lose a case" synonyms?

Solution 1:

Case and trial have related meanings with reference to a legal context. Case is a more general term that refers to a legal action that can be taken against someone, while trial refers specifically to the legal proceeding regarding a case.

Case Law:

• An action or a suit or just grounds for an action.
• The facts or evidence offered in support of a claim.

Trial Law;

• A proceeding in which opposing parties in a dispute present evidence and make arguments on the application of the law before a judge or jury: The case is expected to go to trial.
• An instance of such a proceeding: the trial of Socrates.

Lose or win a case or a trial may be used to refer to the same facts with legal relevance. Case, as a more general term, is more common and has shown in Ngram it appears more frequently.

Ngram: lose/win a case vs lose/win a trial:

• I knew I wasn't the first lawyer, or the last, to lose a trial. It happens every court date. But always silently. Without comment. Without sharing. Ours is not a profession to openly discuss one's failings— to talk about losing. I seemed doomed to my ...

• She said some advocates can win a case on cross-examination by being astute and awake and asking good questions on cross-examination. Bowers made a plea to “be kind to the trees” and pay close attention to the number of pages ...

Solution 2:

Short Answer: In US law, you win/lose a case but you win/lose at trial, not win/lose a trial.

tl;dr: In US law, a case is used to describe a particular lawsuit, either criminal or civil (non-criminal).

A case can be resolved at various stages. The parties can settle, dismiss the case or proceed to a formal determination. That determination may be reached at many different stages short of a trial. A judicial officer who presides over the case may dismiss it, rule in favor of one party or another, or provide a more complex ruling that gives partial relief to one or both sides (or any combination of the foregoing).

A trial is a particular method for resolving a case (and not all cases can go to trial). A trial is generally a proceeding used to determine facts, based on evidence, rather than to decide issues based solely on law in which the facts are not in dispute. A decision based on a trial may be made by a judge, by a jury, or by a combination of the two, depending on what is at issue.

The resolution of a criminal case following trial is usually in the form of a verdict, a decision by the jury (or sometimes a judge) as to whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. Lawyers and clients talk about winning/losing the case, but generally not winning/losing the trial.

The resolution of a civil case that goes to jury trial is generally handled like a criminal case. A civil case that goes to trial before a judge is usually resolved in the form of a decision about the facts and law that leads to a judgement. The decision usually contains an explanation about why the case is determined in one direction or another. Lawyers and clients may talk about a winning/losing decision, but generally not, winning/losing the decision or winning/losing the trial. IN both cases, if a party prevails after a trial, they might say we won at trial, or we won after a trial.