Mistrial

Mistrial in the United States

A trial ended before it arrives at a conclusion. A mistrial occurs in the wake of an extraordinary situation. A mistrial may be declared, for example, because one or more of the jurors cannot continue. More often, a mistrial occurs because of a prejudicial error that cannot be corrected. A prosecutor, for example, may refer to the existence of inadmissible evidence. The remark may produce such prejudice toward the defendant that its impact cannot be repaired by instructions to the jury to disregard it. As a result, ajudge may determine that the trial cannot continue. A mistrial also occurs because of a hung jury. Such a jury is one whose members cannot produce a verdict because they are hopelessly deadlocked. When a unanimous vote is required, refusal by only one juror to agree with the others on a decision results in a hung jury.

See Also

Double Jeopardy (Criminal Process) Jury (Criminal Process).

Analysis and Relevance

A mistrial does not produce a resolution to a dispute. To the contrary, a mistrial represents the failure of the process to return a judgment. Under the double jeopardy concept, a mistrial may prevent retrial of an accused. Trials terminated at the initiative of the defendant or with the accused’s consent may be retried, however. Similarly, if a proceeding is stopped for reasons of “manifest necessity,” reprosecution may occur. Death of a juror or illness of the trial judge constitute manifest necessity. Under the manifest necessity doctrine, trial courts must balance the accused’s interest in concluding the trial with the societal interest of successfully prosecuting the accused. This balance is not done by means of a mechanical test, but by assessing the “totality of circumstances” that emerge at the trial.

Notes and References

  1. Definition of Mistrial from the American Law Dictionary, 1991, California

Mistrial Definition

A trial which Is erroneous on account of some defect in the persons trying, as if the jury come from the wrong county, or because there was no issue formed, as if no plea be entered, or some other defect of jurisdiction. 3 Croke, 284; 2 Maule & S. 270.

Mistrial in Foreign Legal Encyclopedias

Link Description
Mistrial Mistrial in the World Legal Encyclopedia.
Mistrial Mistrial in the European Legal Encyclopedia.
Mistrial Mistrial in the Asian Legal Encyclopedia.
Mistrial Mistrial in the UK Legal Encyclopedia.
Mistrial Mistrial in the Australian Legal Encyclopedia.

Back to Top

For starting research in the law of a foreign country:

Browse the American Encyclopedia of Law for Mistrial

Scan Mistrial in the appropriate area of law:

Link Description
Mistrial Mistrial in the Family Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Mistrial Mistrial in the IP Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Mistrial Mistrial in the Commercial Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Mistrial Mistrial in the Criminal Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Mistrial Mistrial in the Antritrust Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Mistrial Mistrial in the Bankruptcy Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Mistrial Mistrial in the Constitutional Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Mistrial Mistrial in the Tax Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Mistrial Mistrial in the and Finance and Banking Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Mistrial Mistrial in the Employment and Labor Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Mistrial Mistrial in the Personal Injury and Tort Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Mistrial Mistrial in the Environmental Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.

Back to Top

Explore other Reference Works

Resource Description
Mistrial in the Dictionaries Mistrial in our legal dictionaries
http://lawi.us/mistrial The URI of Mistrial (more about URIs)
Mistrial related entries Find related entries of Mistrial

Back to Top

Legal Issue for Attorneys

A trial which Is erroneous on account of some defect in the persons trying, as if the jury come from the wrong county, or because there was no issue formed, as if no plea be entered, or some other defect of jurisdiction. 3 Croke, 284; 2 Maule & S. 270.

More Resources

Access Points to the American Encyclopedia of Law

Access to the Encyclopedia is provided by alphabetical arrangement of entries, table of cases, table of laws, briefs and tables of contents.

Legal Thesaurus Dictionary

Because some legal concepts are too complicated to compress to a single word or term, the legal thesaurus dictionary allows the reader to search for groups of terms, including synonyms, antonyms, expanded legal meanings and other terms the reader is likely to use. The resource includes lists, synonym rings , subject categories, taxonomies and a number of schemes.

Legal Indexes

The Index is a collectio
n of entries to allow users to locate information in the Lawi Projects. After write down relevant words and phrases that you need, begin looking up the words and phrases using the index until you have located an applicable subject to review.

Indexes of All Encyclopedias:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Z

Index Description
General Index Index of general information about the Encyclopedia
Classified index Headings arranged on the basis of relations among concepts represented by headings, based on the Lawi Classification Scheme
Topical Index A comprehensive and easy guide to the topics of the legal Encyclopedia
Citation Index Index of links between citing and cited entries
Subject Index Identify and describe the subjects of the Encyclopedia
Alphabetical Index A-Z Index of all the Entries
Thematic Index Correlation of terms in a meaningful hierarchical order
Permutation Index A type of index in which significant words in the titles function as subject headings
Browse Index Browse the Encyclopedia by Index
Sitemap Index Sitemap Index, including Taxonomies

Notice

This definition of Mistrial Is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This definition needs to be proofread..

Practical Information

Note: Some of this information was last updated in 1982

A declaration of the court (in U.S. law) that a trial is to be ended because for some reason justice may not be done if the trial continues. Disqualification of the judge or a juror or the inability of the jury to agree upon a verdict may result in a mistrial. The court will declare a mistrial if a matter has been brought to the jury improperly and could possibly prejudice the verdict. The declaration of a mistrial ends the trial, but the action, itself, continues. In other words, the defendant will not be put into double jeopardy (in U.S. law) if he or she is again brought to trial on the same charge.

(Revised by Ann De Vries)

What is Mistrial?

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

Meaning of Mistrial

In plain or simple terms, Mistrial means: A trial which is void because of some error.

Resources

See Also

  • Legal Topics.
  • Criminal Procedure; Harmless Error; Hung Jury.

    Further Reading (Articles)

    Mistrials occur for numerous reasons; who might be at fault isn’t predictable, AZ Daily Star; July 5, 2009; KIM SMITH

    Commentary: Criminal Law: Mistrial over Defense Objection Might Result in Double Jeopardy, Daily Record (Rochester, NY); May 29, 2013; Muldoon, Gary

    Another mistrial threat in Peterson case, The Sun – Naperville (IL); August 15, 2012;

    Here we go again: Another mistrial motion, SouthtownStar (Chicago, IL); August 15, 2012

    Mistrial ‘Prejudicial’ Remark Causes Judge To End Drug Case Testimony, The News-Item (Shamokin, PA); January 27, 2011; Mark Gilger

    Judge considers mistrial request in Drew trial, SouthtownStar (Chicago, IL); August 2, 2012

    Judge considers request for mistrial, The Herald News – Joliet (IL); August 2, 2012

    `Mistrial’ helps Lou Reed beat rap of solo shortcoming, Chicago Sun-Times; May 13, 1986; Don McLeese

    closure denied, justice delayed by dozens of mistrials a year.(Local), The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA); July 3, 2011

    District court
    needs to fix mistrial issues, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, WY); August 11, 2009

    Judge Declares Mistrial in D.C. Police Suit; Jurors Overheard Joking About Case, The Washington Post; May 21, 1991; Tracy Thompson

    MISTRIAL DEJA VU: Hung jury disappoints community, New Pittsburgh Courier; December 17, 1997; Anonymous

    Mistrial ordered in fatal crash trial, Yakima Herald-Republic; August 10, 2006; Mike Rock

    Mistrial In Hospital Corruption Case, Virgin Islands Daily News; June 25, 2011; JOY BLACKBURN

    Clemens case ends in mistrial, The Pantagraph Bloomington, IL; July 15, 2011

    Merck Mistrial Analysis, Analyst Wire; December 12, 2005

    Jurors Get Two Days Off As Mistrial Threat Looms in California Banker’s Trial., Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News; October 21, 2003

    Judge Declares Mistrial in Tyco Case., Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News; April 3, 2004

    Defendant Seeks Mistrial after Stabbing Witness, The Washington Times (Washington, DC); July 17, 1996; Lacharite, Gretchen

    Judge Denies Mistrial in Peterson Case, AP Online; July 30, 2004; BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer

    Mistrial Definition in the context of the Federal Court System

    An invalid trial, caused by fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again with the selection of a new jury.

    Comments

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *