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{{short description|Legal term for a jury that cannot agree on a verdict}}
{{for|the album|Hung Jury (album){{!}}''Hung Jury'' (album)}}
A '''hung jury''', also called a '''deadlocked jury''', is a judicial [[jury]] that cannot agree upon a [[verdict]] after extended [[deliberation]] and is unable to reach the required unanimity or [[supermajority]]. A hung jury may result in the case being tried again.
This situation can occur only in [[common law]] legal systems
== Australia ==
Majority (or supermajority verdicts) are in force in South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. [[Australian Capital Territory]] and Commonwealth courts require unanimous verdicts in criminal (but not civil) trials.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://support.thomsonreuters.com.au/product/westlaw-au/updates-alerts/ten-or-eleven-out-twelve-aint-bad-not-crimes-against-commonwealth|title = Ten or Eleven Out of Twelve Ain't Bad|date = 25 November 2014}}</ref>
== Canada==
In [[Canada]], 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
== New Zealand ==
In [[New Zealand]], the jury must
If the jury fails to reach either a unanimous or majority verdict after a reasonable time, the presiding judge may declare a hung jury
== United Kingdom ==
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=== England and Wales ===
In [[England and Wales]] a majority of
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
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
=== Scotland ===
It is not possible to have a hung jury in [[Scotland]] in [[Scottish criminal law|criminal cases]]. Juries consist of 15, and verdicts are decided by simple majority (
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.<ref>https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/23-24/41/section/11s<nowiki/>{{Dead link|date=June 2016}}</ref>
==United States
Majority verdicts are not allowed in civilian criminal cases in the United States
[[Louisiana]], which was historically influenced by the French [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] system, and [[Oregon]] used to allow 10–2 majority verdicts. In the 2020 case ''[[Ramos v. Louisiana]]'', the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] ruled that a jury must vote unanimously to convict in any criminal offense that requires a [[jury trial]].
Some jurisdictions permit the court to give the jury a so-called [[Allen v. United States (1896)|Allen charge]], inviting the dissenting jurors to re-examine their opinions, as a last-ditch effort to prevent the jury from hanging. The [[Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure]] 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 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."<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_31|title=Rule 31|publisher=Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure}}</ref>▼
▲Some jurisdictions permit the court to give the jury a so-called [[Allen v. United States (1896)|Allen charge]], inviting the dissenting jurors to re-examine their opinions, as a last-ditch effort to prevent the jury from hanging. The [[Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure]] state, "The verdict must be unanimous. .
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," referring to the fact that in some cases, a single juror can defeat the required unanimity.
One proposal for dealing with the difficulties associated with hung juries has been to introduce [[supermajority]] 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
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 [[Uniform Code of Military Justice]] (10 U.S.C. Chapter 47)
In all other cases, only a three-fourths vote is required to convict. Additionally, the [[Manual for Courts-Martial]] 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.
===Hung jury in sentencing phase of death penalty trials===▼
Of the 28 U.S. states with the [[Capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]], 26 require the sentence to be decided by a [[jury]], and 25 of them require a unanimous sentence.▼
▲Of the
Nebraska is the only state in which the sentence is decided by a three-judge panel. If
Montana is the only state where the trial judge alone decides the sentence
In all states in which the jury
However,
* In
* In two states (Indiana and Missouri), the judge will decide the sentence.
* In the
The first outcome is referred as the "true unanimity" rule, while the third has been criticized as the "single-juror veto" rule.<ref>{{cite web |title= Hurst v. Florida Remedial Legislation and SBP 7068 |url=https://www.crimeandconsequences.com/crimblog/files/documents/HurstFixBillLtr.pdf |
==References==
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