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Hung jury
 
 
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A hung jury is a jury
Jury

A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render a rationalism, impartiality verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence or judgment....
 that cannot agree upon a verdict
Verdict

In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge....
 after an extended period of deliberation
Deliberation

Legal deliberation is the process in which a jury in a trial in court discusses in private the findings of the court and decides by vote with which argument to agree of either opposing side....
 and is deadlocked with irreconcilable differences of opinion.

United States
In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, the result is a mistrial, and the case may be retried. Some jurisdictions permit the court to give the jury a so-called Allen charge
Allen charge

In Law of the United States jurisprudence, an Allen charge, named for the case Allen v. United States,164 U.S. 492, 501-502, 17 S.Ct. 154, 41 L.Ed....
, inviting the dissenting jurors to re-examine their opinions, as a last ditch effort to prevent the jury from hanging.

Juries in criminal cases are generally required to reach a unanimous verdict, while juries in civil cases typically have to reach some set level of majority consensus short of unanimity.






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Encyclopedia


A hung jury is a jury
Jury

A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render a rationalism, impartiality verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence or judgment....
 that cannot agree upon a verdict
Verdict

In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge....
 after an extended period of deliberation
Deliberation

Legal deliberation is the process in which a jury in a trial in court discusses in private the findings of the court and decides by vote with which argument to agree of either opposing side....
 and is deadlocked with irreconcilable differences of opinion.

United States


In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, the result is a mistrial, and the case may be retried. Some jurisdictions permit the court to give the jury a so-called Allen charge
Allen charge

In Law of the United States jurisprudence, an Allen charge, named for the case Allen v. United States,164 U.S. 492, 501-502, 17 S.Ct. 154, 41 L.Ed....
, inviting the dissenting jurors to re-examine their opinions, as a last ditch effort to prevent the jury from hanging.

Juries in criminal cases are generally required to reach a unanimous verdict, while juries in civil cases typically have to reach some set level of majority consensus short of unanimity. In jurisdictions giving the litigants a choice of jury size (such as between a six-person and twelve-person jury), defense counsel in both civil and criminal cases frequently opt for the larger number of jurors. A hung jury is generally regarded as the next best thing to an acquittal
Acquittal

In criminal law, an acquittal is a verdict of not guilty, or some similar end of the proceeding that terminates it with prejudice without a verdict of Guilt y being entered against the accused....
, so the larger size of the jury increases the chances of dissension. A common axiom in criminal cases is that "it takes only one to hang," referring to the fact that, in some cases, a single juror can defeat the necessary unanimity.

One proposal for dealing with the difficulties associated with hung juries has been to introduce supermajority
Supermajority

A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a majority in order to have effect....
 verdicts. This measure would allow juries to convict defendants without unanimous agreements amongst the jurors. Hence, a 12-member jury that would otherwise be deadlocked at 11 for conviction and 1 against, would be recorded as a guilty verdict for the defendant. The rationale for majority verdicts usually includes arguments involving so-called 'rogue jurors' who unreasonably impede the course of justice. Opponents of the introduction of majority verdicts argue that it undermines public confidence in criminal justice systems and results in a higher number of individuals convicted of crimes they did not commit.

United Kingdom


England and Wales


In England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 and Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
 a majority of 10-2 is needed for a verdict, failure to reach this may lead to a retrial.

Scotland


In Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 in criminal cases juries consist of 15, and 8 jurors are needed to arrive at a guilty verdict, even if the size of the jury drops below 15 e.g. because of illness. It is not possible to have a hung jury since if this number is not reached it is treated as an acquittal.