persons vs people

[lucy lace]

When, and why, is it acceptable to use the plural "persons" instead of "people"?

[jotham]

Bryan Garner says that the difference is older; persons refers to specific people and are usually small in number: "twelve persons on the jury." People is a general term: "300 people who had assembled." He says that today, Americans tend to use people all the time, and persons sounds a little awkward and that the New York Times and Associated Press prefer people.