Hung Jury
Definition
A judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority.
Deep Dive
A hung jury occurs in a judicial trial when a jury, after extended deliberation, cannot reach the required unanimous or supermajority verdict (e.g., guilty or not guilty). This inability to agree on a verdict results in a judicial declaration of a mistrial. When a mistrial is declared due to a hung jury, the legal proceedings for that specific trial come to an end without a resolution of the defendant's guilt or innocence. This outcome often means that the prosecution has the option to retry the case with a new jury, assuming they believe they can secure a conviction, or they may choose to drop the charges entirely, particularly if the first trial revealed significant weaknesses in their case.
Examples & Use Cases
- 1After a week of intense deliberation in a murder trial, the jury sends a note to the judge stating they are hopelessly deadlocked with 8 jurors for conviction and 4 for acquittal, leading to a mistrial
- 2In a complex fraud case, the jury deliberates for several days but cannot agree on all counts, resulting in a hung jury on some charges while reaching a verdict on others
- 3A judge, after receiving multiple notes about a jury's inability to agree, brings them back to court and, after questioning, declares a hung jury, opening the possibility of a new trial.