In the United States legal system, a jury that is unable to reach a unanimous verdict is called a “hung jury.” The jury is charged with voting on a verdict and presenting it to the court. Typically, the jury will attempt to reach a unanimous verdict before presenting its decision to the court, but occasionally the jury, despite honest efforts, will be unable to reach a unanimous decision. When this happens, the jury will inform the court that it has does not have enough votes for a single verdict.
After the jury informs the judge that it has been unable to reach a unanimous verdict, the judge will usually encourage the jury to try again, in order to avoid the possibility of a mistrial. In federal court, a judge might issue an Allen charge, which instructs the jurors in the minority to reconsider their vote. If, after further deliberations, the jury is still not able to reach a single verdict, it will be considered a “hung jury” and the judge will declare a mistrial. This does not happen very often.
The consequences of a mistrial depend on the type of case and the court in which it is being tried. If the case is a civil case, then a mistrial means that the plaintiff can decide whether to bring the case again, or drop the case completely. If the case is criminal, then the prosecutor can decide whether to retry the defendant, dismiss the charges, or negotiate a plea bargain with the defendant. In any criminal case, retrial of the defendant must comport with the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. The prohibition against retrying a defendant for the same charges does not typically apply when there is a mistrial due to a hung jury and a defendant may usually be retried on the charges about which the jury did not agree.
A mistrial occurs when a criminal jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict. A mistrial does not mean the case is over, but only that the prosecution must determine whether the case is worth retrying, both from a monetary and a substantive standpoint. To assist the prosecution in making that decision, the jury can be polled such that each juror is questioned as to his vote. Attorneys for both the prosecution and defense further have the opportunity to speak with the jurors - if they are agreeable - to discuss their opinions as to the effectiveness of the evidence presented at trial.
In civil matters, a unanimous verdict is not required so unless there occurs misconduct during the course of the trial, mistrials are seldom ordered by the court.
In the American criminal justice system, if the jury remains hung, that is to say it cannot reach a unanimous verdict, then the result is a mistrial. This does not, however, mean that the case cannot be retried. Indeed, the relevant legal precedent—United States v Perez (1824)—established that the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment does not automatically prevent such cases from being retried.
According to Mr. Justice Story, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, courts should always exercise considerable caution in discharging a jury in cases where they are unable to reach a verdict. Nevertheless, they do have that discretion, but when it is exercised it does not prevent further legal proceedings from taking place. In the case of Perez, he remained in custody despite the collapse of his original trial, ready to be tried again under the same indictment.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/22/579.html
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