the.com/hung jury
Twelve strangers achieve the one thing democracy promised: a perfect tie.
means A jury so divided it cannot reach the unanimous verdict the law requires, forcing a mistrial.
from Literal sense first — 'hung' meaning suspended, stuck, unable to move forward, the same sense in 'hung parliament.' The jury doesn't hang anyone; it just hangs there, deadlocked, until a judge finally calls it and declares a mistrial.
- legal effect
- case can be retried, not dismissed
- requirement
- usually needs unanimous verdict to avoid this
- judge move
- sometimes gives Allen charge to push consensus
- outcome rate
- happens in roughly 1 in 20 trials