A hung jury occurs when a trial jury cannot reach a unanimous or near-unanimous verdict, resulting in a mistrial. The presiding judge can order a retrial or the prosecutor can decide to pursue a retrial, negotiate a plea deal, or drop the charges. Dynamite charging, where the judge orders the jury to continue deliberating, is a controversial and coercive practice. The right to a trial by jury is a critical component of many legal systems, including the United States Constitution.
A jury hung is a term used when a trial jury is unable to reach a unanimous or near unanimous verdict. This means that jurors are unable to determine, as a collective body, whether a defendant is guilty or not. In a civil case, this means that a jury was unable to find for either the plaintiff or the defendant.
Trial juries generally consist of six to 12 members, depending on the type of case under consideration. After both sides have presented their arguments, the members deliberate on the facts of the case to determine the verdict. For a verdict to be reached, a minimum number of jurors must agree. In most criminal cases, a jury’s decision must be unanimous, but there are some cases that allow for less than unanimity in a jury’s decision.
When a hung jury occurs, the presiding judge declares a mistrial, meaning the trial ended without a sentence. In a criminal case, the prosecutor can decide whether or not to pursue a retrial, negotiate a plea deal, or drop the charges. In a civil trial, a judge will order the case to be retried at a future date.
A mistrial of this kind is widely considered an undesirable outcome, so many judges will order the jury to continue its deliberations in hopes of reaching a verdict. This is often called a “dynamite charge,” as it is intended to help a hung jury break an impasse. Dynamite charging is considered a controversial and coercive practice. Some studies have indicated that some minority jurors felt pressured to change their votes when the indictment came.
Trial by jury is a critical component of many legal systems around the world. While the exact origins of the concept are unclear, Magna Carta, issued by King John of England in 1215, is known to have stated that “No free man shall be taken, imprisoned … or in any other way destroyed … except by legal judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. To no one we will sell, to no one we will deny or delay, right or justice”.
In the United States, the right of a defendant in a federal criminal case to be tried by a jury of peers is codified in the United States Constitution under the Sixth Amendment. All individual states in the United States have similar provisions, granting an accused the right to a state-level jury trial. The Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution also provides for the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases tried in federal courts.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
