Going to trial: What a hung jury means for your case

By law, most states require that jurors come to a unanimous decision regarding a defendant’s guilt at a criminal trial. As the prosecution is legally required to establish that an individual is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, this provision is a means of ensuring that this task has truly been accomplished. It therefore falls to your Miami criminal defense attorney not necessarily to establish your innocence, but to cast doubt on the version of events the opposing counsel has put forth before the jury.

In our last post, we discussed what happens when a jury initially announces that it cannot reach a unanimous decision on a given case. The judge may then recite the Allen charge, which encourages the jurors to continue deliberating. If the jury should reach a unanimous verdict, but your Miami criminal defense lawyer suspects that it is due to the improper delivery of the Allen charge, the Florida Bar Journal states that he or she may call for a mistrial citing coercion.

If the jury is still unable to agree on whether you are guilty or innocent of a criminal act after the charge is recited, the case will automatically be deemed a mistrial. At this point, there are two possibilities that are most common. The prosecution may call for a retrial, as doing so in the event of a deadlocked jury does not qualify as Double Jeopardy – which prevents an individual from being tried twice for the same crime. At this point, the whole process will start again from the beginning.

It is also possible that your Miami criminal defense lawyer may enter into a final round of plea bargaining with the prosecution, as the hung jury may shed light on the strength of both cases – especially if the judge divulges details about how the vote was divided.

If you are facing criminal charges in Florida, contact an experienced attorney like Scott A. Ferris, Esq. for guidance. Call 305-670-3330 and tell us about your case.