Hung Jury in United States

Plain-English Law

Hung Jury as defined by Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law (p. 437-455):

A jury unable to come to a final decision, resulting in a mistrial.

Practical Information

Note: Some of this information was last updated in 1982

A jury wherein the members cannot reach a verdict because of differences of opinion.

(Revised by Ann De Vries)

What is Hung Jury?

For a meaning of it, read Hung Jury in the Legal Dictionary here. Browse and search more U.S. and international free legal definitions and legal terms related to Hung Jury.

Criminal Procedure: Trial Hung Jury

Introduction to Hung Jury

A jury that is unable to agree on whether to convict or acquit is called a hung jury. In some states the jury must be unanimous in their verdict, whereas other states permit less than unanimous verdicts in some cases. If the jury is unable to reach a verdict, the defendant, not having been acquitted, may be retried later before another jury. A retrial following a hung jury does not violate the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition against double jeopardy, which generally prevents a person from being tried twice for the same offense (see Jeopardy). The prosecution may or may not choose to retry the accused.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Hung Jury in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Hung Jury

In this Section

Pretrial Events (including Investigation and Arrest, Pretrial Events Booking, First Judicial Appearance, Bail, Preliminary Hearing, Arraignment on the Indictment and Preparation for Trial), Trial,

Jury, Trial Evidence, Trial Motions, Burden of Proof, Hung Jury, Motions After Trial, Sentencing (including Sentencing Probation and Parole), Appeals and Habeas Corpus.