A majority verdict is a decision made by a jury in which most of the jurors agree on a verdict. It does not necessarily require a unanimous decision, instead requiring a specified number or percentage of jurors to be in agreement. Majority verdicts are used in some legal systems to reach a conclusion in a trial.
The number of jurors in a jury can vary depending on the jurisdiction and type of trial. Typically, a jury consists of 12 jurors for criminal trials and can range from 6 to 12 for civil trials.
A sequestered jury is a group of usually twelve jurors who have been directed by the judge in the case that they will be held in accommodations, away from news, media and other sources of information that might sway their attention in the case until such time as they trial is over and they have reached a verdict or determined they are a hung jury. (Copied from Answers.com question:What is a sequestered jury)
The Athenian jury system selected jurors randomly from a pool of volunteers, while the US jury system selects jurors from voter registration or drivers license lists. In Athens, the jury size could be up to 501 citizens, while in the US, a standard jury size is 12. Additionally, in Athens, jurors voted by placing a token in one of two urns, whereas in the US, jurors deliberate and reach a consensus verdict.
The origin of the term is unclear, but it is definitely American in origin, dating from around the early 19th century, no later than the 1840's. Assorted accounts at the time of mistrials due to lack of jury unanimity have referred to the jury being "hung", perhaps a means of saying "hung up", unable to proceed.
It takes 12 Jurors to arrive at a decision. But a Jury only decides the guilty/ not guilty verdict, and all 12 Jurors have to agree on either guilty, or not guility or else the Jury has to try to convince each other to all agree on either guilty or not guilty. If that fails, the Jury turns into a "Hung Jury" and a new Jury is brought in.
The amount of jurors that must agree on a case will depend on the type of case it is. In a civil case, 6 out of 8 jurors must agree to pass a verdict. In a criminal case, all of the jurors must agree and the vote must be unanimous or it will be a hung jury.
An Allen charge is an instruction intended to prevent a hung jury by encouraging jurors in the minority to reconsider their verdict.
A majority verdict is a decision made by a jury in which most of the jurors agree on a verdict. It does not necessarily require a unanimous decision, instead requiring a specified number or percentage of jurors to be in agreement. Majority verdicts are used in some legal systems to reach a conclusion in a trial.
A hung jury occurs when the members cannot reach a unanimous verdict. In such cases, the judge may declare a mistrial, and the case may be retried with a new jury.
Prosecutors try to avoid hung juries by being sure they have a strong case before taking it to trial. In the US, the court will try to resolve a hung jury with an Allen charge. If the jury comes back reporting that they are hung, the court will instruct the jury with the Allen charge, and direct them to continue deliberating and try again to reach a consensus.
A hung jury.
The number of jurors in a jury can vary depending on the jurisdiction and type of trial. Typically, a jury consists of 12 jurors for criminal trials and can range from 6 to 12 for civil trials.
By law, you and the states attorneys office have to agree on the fact that you and them agree that the citizens before you are impartial and interrested in only the facts of law to bring about a truthful and just finding at the end of your trial.
A hung jury is unable to reach unanimity on a verdict.
Yes, if one is an alternate juror, meaning a juror who is there to fill in if one of the 12 jurors cannot complete their jury service.
We told the judge we were a hung jury.