What Happens When A Criminal Case Ends In A Mistrial?

There have been a number of mistrials in high profile court cases recently. But what is a mistrial? And what happens after that?

A hung jury occurs when the jury can’t agree one way or another on a verdict. When judges are told that a jury can’t agree, they typically tell the jury to resume deliberations, usually no more than once or twice. This is known as an Allen Charge.

Judges have been known to try to push jurors in the minority to reconsider their position, but many courts have decided not to do that because it seems coercive, according to uslegal.com.

The American Bar Association has drafted an instruction that asks jurors in the minority to reconsider their position, but only change their mind if they are convinced it is the right thing to do.

If the jury can’t reach a unanimous verdict, a mistrial may be declared, according to the American Bar Association. The case can then be retried with a new jury, or the prosecution can choose not to pursue the case any further.

This is because a hung jury doesn’t mean the defendant is guilty, but it also doesn’t mean they’re not guilty There has been some question as to the constitutionality of re-trying a criminal case, but it has been generally allowed throughout history.

If a jury is hung, it is dismissed and a hearing is scheduled, at which time the prosecution announces whether it intends to pursue another trial. Hung juries and mistrials have become more common recently.

In December, a 12-member jury failed to reach a verdict in the murder trial of former South Carolina cop and South Jersey native Michael Slager, who was seen on video fatally shooting an unarmed black man running from a traffic stop in 2015. There was one holdout on the jury, which prevented it from reaching a consensus.

However, earlier this month, Slager pleaded guilty to violating the man's civil rights. Slager was facing both federal civil rights and state murder charges and his plea resolved both cases, with prosecutors agreeing to drop the murder charge.

This week, jury selection was to begin in the second trial of Ray Tensing, a former University of Cincinnati cop accused of fatally shooting a black driver during a traffic stop. A hung jury resulted in a mistrial in that case last year.

And then there’s the case of former Tulsa police officer Shannon Kepler, who is going on trial for a third time in the fatal shooting of his daughter’s boyfriend back in 2014. There have been two mistrials in his case, with each hung jury favoring a guilty verdict.

See related: Hung Jury In David Creato Murder Trial: County Prosecutor Intends To Retry Case

See related: Bill Cosby Case Ends In Mistrial

So how often does a hung jury actually result in a mistrial? According to a study conducted by Nicole L. Waters, of the National Center for State Courts, and Valerie P. Hans, of Cornell University Law School, back in 2009, about 6 percent of criminal juries are hung.

However, according to that same study, 38 percent of juries had at least one juror who disagreed with the majority, but voted with the consensus anyway, and 54 percent of juries working a trial with multiple charges included at least one juror who disagreed with the majority on at least one of the charges and voted against their own beliefs.

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