Hung Juries

The United States Constitution guarantees all criminal defendants a right to a trial by a jury of their peers. A criminal jury consists of 12 people. There is also a constitutional right to a jury trial in certain types of civil cases. The jury in a civil case usually contains 6 to 12 people. If the jurors cannot agree on a verdict, the jury is said to be a "hung jury" or a "deadlocked jury." If a jury deadlocks, the result is a mistrial.

Declaring a Mistrial

When a judge declares a mistrial, the trial must start again with a new jury. There are significant monetary costs associated with retrying cases. Also, hung juries call into question the credibility and fairness of the judicial process. Some legal commentators question whether jurors can handle complex legal and evidentiary questions.

Criminal Juries Deadlock More Often Than Civil Juries

Generally, civil juries are less likely to deadlock than criminal juries. This is explained in part because the burden of proof in civil cases (preponderance of the evidence) is lower than that in criminal cases (beyond a reasonable doubt). Also, federal juries usually consist of 6 jurors rather than 12 jurors in criminal juries. The federal courts have a much lower rate of hung juries than do state courts.

Reasons for Hung Juries

Jurors usually hold onto their early opinions about a defendant's guilt or innocence in a criminal trial. Also, if the jurors are evenly split on the first vote, the jury is more likely to end up a hung jury. Jurors that focus on reaching a verdict in deliberations, tend to end up as hung juries more often than do jurors who emphasize evaluating the evidence. If jurors delay a formal vote until after a discussion of the evidence, the jury is less likely to end up as a deadlocked jury. Weak evidence is a factor in cases involving a hung jury. Police credibility is also a factor in criminal cases resulting in a deadlocked jury. Finally, the complexity of the case can contribute to a hung jury. Juries with a high degree of conflict among the jurors increase the likelihood of a deadlocked jury.

Copyright 2012 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.