what happens if a jury cannot agree on a verdict

If a jury cannot agree on a verdict, the case usually ends in what’s called a “hung jury,” and the judge may declare a mistrial, after first trying hard to get jurors to keep deliberating. In many criminal cases, this means there is no final decision, and the prosecution must decide whether to retry the case, offer a plea, or drop the charges.

What Happens If a Jury Cannot Agree on a Verdict? (Quick Scoop)

1. First things first: what’s a “hung jury”?

When a jury tells the judge they can’t all agree on guilty or not guilty, they may be considered deadlocked or hung. In U.S. criminal trials, verdicts almost always have to be unanimous , so even one juror holding out can block a verdict.

• In criminal cases , all jurors must agree on each charge (guilty or not guilty).

• In some civil cases , the law may allow a non‑unanimous (supermajority) verdict, but if the required number still isn’t reached, you still get a “hung” jury situation.

• A hung jury means: the jury has tried, deliberated, and still cannot reach the required agreement.

In forum-style discussions and legal explainers, people often describe a hung jury as “the trial just kind of stops without a winner.”

2. What the judge does before giving up

Courts really do not like wasting an entire trial, so the judge usually pushes the jury to try again before declaring a mistrial.

Typical steps:

1. Jury reports deadlock
   • The jury sends a note saying they cannot agree or are “hopelessly deadlocked.”

2. Judge brings them back into court
   • The judge may ask questions (carefully) to see if more deliberation could help, without asking how they are split (like 11–1, 7–5, etc., unless necessary).

3. The “Allen charge” / “dynamite charge”
   • The judge may read a special instruction (often called an Allen charge) encouraging jurors to keep an open mind, listen to one another, and reconsider their views , but without abandoning their honest convictions just to reach a verdict.

 * This is meant to nudge them towards agreement without coercing anyone.

4. More deliberations
   • The jury goes back to the jury room to try again, sometimes for hours or even days depending on the complexity of the case.

If, after all this, the jury still says they’re deadlocked, the judge can decide it’s “hopeless” and move to the next step: a mistrial.

3. When the judge finally calls a mistrial

If the jury still cannot agree, the judge may officially declare a mistrial due to a hung jury.

Key points:

• The trial ends with no verdict : no guilty, no not guilty.

• The jury is discharged and goes home.

• The case essentially resets to a pre‑trial posture—legally, it’s like the trial never reached a conclusion.

A mistrial from a hung jury is different from other mistrials (like juror misconduct, a major legal error, or a sick witness), but the result is similar: the current trial is invalid, and the case is open again.

4. What happens after a mistrial?

Once a mistrial is declared, it’s all about what the prosecution chooses to do next (and how the defense responds).

Possible outcomes:

• Retrial with a new jury
  • The prosecution can decide to try the case again from scratch in front of a new jury.

* This is common if the evidence is strong or the split seemed in favor of conviction.

• Plea bargain negotiations
  • Sometimes a hung jury pushes both sides toward a plea deal , especially if the jury seemed split close to the middle.

• Dropping or reducing charges
  • The prosecutor can drop the case entirely (dismiss charges) if they think another trial isn’t worth it, or reduce charges to something easier to prove.

• Multiple hung juries
  • If the jury is hung again in a second trial, judges and prosecutors may be even more likely to drop the case or accept a lighter plea.

Important: because there was no verdict , double jeopardy (the rule against being tried twice for the same offense) usually does not stop a retrial.

5. What it means for the defendant

From the defendant’s point of view, a hung jury is a kind of legal limbo.

• They are not convicted , so no formal finding of guilt, and no sentence is imposed from that trial.

• They are not acquitted either, so the case is not over and can usually be tried again.

• The stress, costs, and publicity can continue if there’s a retrial, sometimes for years in high‑profile cases.

On legal forums, you’ll often see attorneys say that a hung jury is “better than a conviction but not as good as an acquittal.” It’s a reset button , not a win.

6. Criminal vs. civil cases

The basic idea is similar in both, but there are some differences.

Criminal trials

• Require unanimous verdicts in virtually all U.S. jurisdictions for guilt or innocence.

• A hung jury → mistrial → possible retrial, plea, or dismissal.

Civil trials (suing for money, etc.)

• Some states allow non‑unanimous verdicts (for example, a supermajority like 10–2), so deadlock is less common but still possible if the threshold isn’t met.

• A hung jury often means a mistrial and potential retrial, or the parties might settle instead of going through trial again.

7. Why juries get stuck

From discussions in legal education videos and public explainer sites, juries tend to deadlock for a few familiar reasons:

• Different views of the evidence (how reliable a witness is, how strong the forensic evidence seems).
• Different standards of “beyond a reasonable doubt” in each juror’s mind.
• Strong moral views about the charge, the law, or the potential punishment.
• Complex cases (multiple defendants, many charges, complicated financial or technical facts).

This is why judges encourage them to keep talking, listen to each other, and reconsider—without bullying anyone into changing their mind.

8. Snapshot table: what happens if a jury can’t agree

[3][1] [1][3] [8][3][1] [3][1] [7][1][3] [5][7][1] [7][5][1] [7][1] [9][5][1][3][7] [5][1][7]

Stage	What happens	Key result
Jury reports deadlock	Jury tells judge they can’t reach unanimous agreement.	Judge decides whether more deliberation might help.
Judge’s instructions	Judge may give an “Allen charge” urging continued, open‑minded discussion.	Jury sent back to deliberate further.
Still no agreement	Jury again reports they are hopelessly deadlocked.	Judge can declare a mistrial.
Mistrial declared	Trial ends without any verdict; jury is discharged.	Case returns to pre‑trial status.
After mistrial	Prosecutor may retry, offer a plea, reduce charges, or drop the case.	No conviction, no full acquittal; defendant remains in limbo until resolved.

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Meta description (around 155–165 characters):
If a jury cannot agree on a verdict, the case may end in a hung jury and mistrial, leading to no verdict and possible retrial, plea deal, or dropped charges.

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TL;DR: If a jury cannot agree on a verdict, the judge will usually push them to deliberate more and may issue a special “keep trying” instruction; if they still can’t agree, the judge declares a mistrial, the trial ends with no verdict, and prosecutors must decide whether to retry, negotiate, or drop the case.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.