What happens if one member of a jury says not guilty?
In order for a jury to reach a verdict – whether guilty or not guilty – the decision must be unanimous. If even one member of the jury disagrees with the decision of all of the other jurors, the jury is hung.
Does every juror have to say guilty?
Jurors are NOT required to deliver a verdict for all, some, or any charge at all that they are asked to consider. When jurors report to the judge that they cannot agree in sufficient number to deliver a verdict, the jury is said to be “deadlocked” or a “hung jury”.
What happens if the jury does not agree on a conviction?
If they do not agree on conviction the jury will be pushed to try harder by the judge. If still no conviction then the case will be ended in what is called a mistrial and the state has the option of trying it again or letting it go. In order to be convicted, the jury must unanimously vote “guilty.”
What happens when a jury is deadlocked?
If 1 juror votes not guilty but all the rest vote guilty and the jury is deadlocked, in other words, they cannot come to a unanimous decision, then there is a hung jury. If the prosecution wishes to retry the case, then a new jury will be picked and the case will be tried again…
What happens if a juror refuses to obey the law?
Defense counsel might attempt to tell the jury that they have the power to ignore the law, but such attempts are almost always impermissible and result in contempt of court findings. Juror revolt. A prosecutor might attempt to have a juror discharged whom the government thinks is engaging in nullification.
Do juries know when nullification is going on?
(The exception in many states involves a “not guilty by reason of insanity” defense. In this situation, juries return a not guilty verdict with this specification or explanation.) So it’s quite possible that no one outside the jury room will know that nullification is going on.