88:, the jury must reach a unanimous decision on criminal cases. If the jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, a hung jury is declared. A new panel of jurors will be selected for the retrial. Each jury in criminal courts contains 12 jurors. In civil cases, only six people are necessary for a jury, and if there is only one dissenter (i.e. a 5–1 vote), the dissenter can be ignored with the majority opinion becoming the final verdict.
100:, the jury must initially try to reach a unanimous verdict. If the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict after a reasonable time, given the nature and complexity of the case (but not less than four hours), then the court may accept a majority verdict. In criminal cases, an all-but-one vote is needed (i.e. 11–1 with a full jury); in civil cases, a three-quarters (75%) vote is needed (i.e. 9–3 with a full jury).
161:. Juries consist of 15, and verdicts are decided by simple majority (eight) of the initial membership. If jurors drop out because of illness or another reason, the trial can continue with a minimum of 12 jurors, but the support of eight jurors is needed for a guilty verdict; anything less is treated as an acquittal.
144:
When the jury is called to deliver a verdict after majority directions have been given, a careful protocol of questions is followed: only in the event of a guilty verdict is it asked whether all jurors were agreed on that verdict, to prevent any acquittal from being tainted by it being disclosed that
225:
state, "The verdict must be unanimous. ... If there are multiple defendants, the jury may return a verdict at any time during its deliberations as to any defendant about whom it has agreed. ... If the jury cannot agree on all counts as to any defendant, the jury may return a verdict on those counts
140:
Initially, the jury will be directed to try to reach a unanimous verdict. If they fail to reach a unanimous verdict, the judge may later (after more than two hours) give directions that a majority verdict will be acceptable, although the jury should continue to try to reach a unanimous verdict if
226:
on which it has agreed. ... If the jury cannot agree on a verdict on one or more counts, the court may declare a mistrial on those counts. A hung jury does not imply either the defendant's guilt or innocence. The government may retry any defendant on any count on which the jury could not agree."
229:
In jurisdictions giving those involved in the case 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 common axiom in criminal cases is that "it takes only one to hang,"
237:
verdicts to 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 one against, would be recorded as a guilty verdict. The rationale for majority verdicts usually includes arguments
238:
related to so-called 'rogue jurors', who unreasonably impede the course of justice. Opponents of majority verdicts argue that it undermines public confidence in criminal justice systems and results in a higher number of individuals to be convicted of crimes they did not commit.
103:
If the jury fails to reach either a unanimous or majority verdict after a reasonable time, the presiding judge may declare a hung jury. A new panel of jurors will be selected for a retrial. If the retrial also results in a hung jury, the case must be referred to the
252:
requires only a judge and a specified number of panel members in all non-capital cases (eight for a general court-martial or three for a special court-martial; no panel is seated for a summary court-martial). In capital cases, a panel of 12 members is required.
245:(10 U.S.C. Chapter 47) specifies the minimum number of court-martial panel members required to return a verdict of guilty. In a capital case, a unanimous vote of all panel members is required to convict on a capital charge.
64:
systems either do not use juries at all or provide that the defendant is immediately acquitted if the majority or supermajority required for conviction is not reached during a singular, solemn vote.
858:
164:
In civil cases there is a jury of 12, with a minimum of 10 needed to continue the trial. It is possible to have a hung jury if there is a tied vote after three hours' deliberation.
129:
a majority of at least 10 votes out of 12 is needed for a verdict. If fewer jurors remain, majorities allowed are 11–0, 10–1, 10–0, 9–1 and 9–0. Failure to reach this may lead to a
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prospective jurors can be selected for such a jury, to exclude both people who will always vote for the death sentence and those who are categorically opposed to it.
72:
Majority (or supermajority verdicts) are in force in South
Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland.
429:
268:
Nebraska is the only state in which the sentence is decided by a three-judge panel. If the panel is not unanimous, the defendant is sentenced to life imprisonment.
241:
In United States military justice, there are no hung juries. If the threshold for a conviction is not met, the defendant is acquitted. Article 52 of the
508:
386:
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817:
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The first outcome is referred as the "true unanimity" rule, while the third has been criticized as the "single-juror veto" rule.
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221:, inviting the dissenting jurors to re-examine their opinions, as a last-ditch effort to prevent the jury from hanging. The
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487:"2014 Nebraska Revised Statutes – Chapter 29 – CRIMINAL PROCEDURE – 29-2521 – Sentencing determination proceeding"
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Majority verdicts are not allowed in civilian criminal cases in the United States. A hung jury results in a
73:
893:
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863:
556:"Life Verdict or Hung Jury? How States Treat Non-Unanimous Jury Votes in Capital-Sentencing Proceedings"
486:
531:"Provisions of state and federal statutes concerning sentence if capital sentencing jury cannot agree"
878:
827:
249:
868:
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of the penalty phase will be conducted before a different jury (the common-law rule for mistrial).
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One proposal for dealing with the difficulties associated with hung juries has been to introduce
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referring to the fact that in some cases, a single juror can defeat the required unanimity.
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ruled that a jury must vote unanimously to convict in any criminal offense that requires a
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However, these states differ on what happens if the penalty phase results in a hung jury:
8:
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109:
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In all other cases, only a three-fourths vote is required to convict. Additionally, the
807:
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649:
411:
202:
76:
and
Commonwealth courts require unanimous verdicts in criminal (but not civil) trials.
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126:
20:
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299:, even if only one juror opposed death. Federal law also provides that outcome.
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Montana is the only state where the trial judge alone decides the sentence.
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any jurors dissented. The protocol is followed separately for each charge.
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In two states (Indiana and
Missouri), the judge will decide the sentence.
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211:
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In five states (Alabama, Arizona, California, Kentucky and Nevada), a
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unless there are compelling reasons to proceed with a third trial.
430:"Part IV: Further Practice Directions Applying in The Crown Court"
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Some jurisdictions permit the court to give the jury a so-called
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http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/23-24/41/section/11s
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In all states in which the jury decides the sentence, only
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53:. A hung jury may result in the case being tried again.
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used to allow 10–2 majority verdicts. In the 2020 case
615:"Hurst v. Florida Remedial Legislation and SBP 7068"
335:"Canada's System of Justice: The Role of the Public"
16:
Legal term for a jury that cannot agree on a verdict
509:"46-18-301. Hearing on imposition of death penalty"
265:, 25 require the sentence to be decided by a jury.
256:
192:, which was historically influenced by the French
49:and is unable to reach the required unanimity or
939:
295:In the remaining states, a hung jury results in
385:. Crown Law Office. 1 July 2013. Archived from
349:"Sections 29C and 29D -- Juries Act 1981 No 23"
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380:"Solicitor-General's Prosecution Guidelines"
351:. Parliamentary Counsel Office. 1 July 2013
657:
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153:It is not possible to have a hung jury in
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578:"SB 280: Sentencing for Capital Felonies"
369:Section 22(3)(b) -- Juries Act 1981 No 23
818:Racial discrimination in jury selection
321:"Ten or Eleven Out of Twelve Ain't Bad"
940:
447:Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
638:
475:, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
337:. Department of Justice. 2015-05-07.
120:
223:Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
13:
14:
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56:This situation can occur only in
243:Uniform Code of Military Justice
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927:Fully Informed Jury Association
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261:Of the 27 U.S. states with the
257:Hung jury in capital sentencing
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432:. 23 May 2010. Archived from
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948:Common law legal terminology
74:Australian Capital Territory
67:
7:
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10:
969:
18:
919:
851:
828:Scientific jury selection
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250:Manual for Courts-Martial
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41:that cannot agree upon a
852:Specific jurisdictions
601:United States v. Perez
558:. deathpenaltyinfo.org
416:www.legislation.gov.uk
183:United States v. Perez
813:Peremptory challenge
803:Death-qualified jury
323:. 25 November 2014.
110:stay of proceedings
19:For the album, see
808:Jury questionnaire
780:Summary jury trial
765:Jury sequestration
743:Jury nullification
686:Citizens' assembly
208:U.S. Supreme Court
203:Ramos v. Louisiana
176:. The case may be
935:
934:
864:England and Wales
723:Jury instructions
668:-related articles
412:"Juries Act 1974"
297:life imprisonment
127:England and Wales
121:England and Wales
106:Solicitor-General
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823:Strike for cause
775:Juror misconduct
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733:Deliberation
621:. Retrieved
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582:. Retrieved
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513:. Retrieved
511:. leg.mt.gov
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491:. Retrieved
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434:the original
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770:Jury stress
98:New Zealand
92:New Zealand
942:Categories
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701:Indictment
696:Grand jury
681:Jury trial
449:section 90
307:References
212:jury trial
186:, 1824).
141:possible.
58:common law
869:Hong Kong
753:Embracery
738:Hung jury
718:Jury fees
713:Jury duty
584:March 15,
540:March 15,
515:April 16,
493:April 16,
194:civil law
190:Louisiana
137:, 1807).
68:Australia
62:Civil law
31:hung jury
22:Hung Jury
879:Scotland
174:mistrial
155:Scotland
149:Scotland
562:May 22,
472:Rule 31
396:26 July
287:retrial
178:retried
131:retrial
43:verdict
24:(album)
953:Juries
920:Groups
884:Taiwan
859:Canada
623:May 1,
604:, 1824
206:, the
198:Oregon
86:Canada
80:Canada
909:Women
874:Japan
618:(PDF)
534:(PDF)
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666:Jury
625:2017
598:See
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357:2015
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