what is a hung jury

A hung jury is a jury that cannot agree on a verdict by the required margin (usually unanimity) even after extended deliberation, so the judge declares a mistrial instead of a conviction or an acquittal.

What is a hung jury?

In law, a hung jury (also called a deadlocked jury) happens when jurors remain split and cannot reach the required unanimous or supermajority decision on “guilty” or “not guilty.” Because there is no valid verdict, the judge will usually declare a mistrial, and the case ends without a final outcome on guilt or innocence.

What happens after a hung jury?

When a jury is declared hung and a mistrial is entered, several things can happen next.

• The prosecution can retry the case with a new jury.

• The prosecution can decide to drop the charges and not proceed further.

• The parties can reach a plea bargain, ending the case without a full new trial.

The defendant is not automatically acquitted or convicted; the case is simply unresolved because the jury could not agree.

Why do juries hang?

Juries most often hang because of deep disagreement that cannot be overcome, even with more time or judicial instructions.

Common reasons include:

• Different views of how strong or weak the evidence is.
• Conflicting opinions about whether witnesses are credible.
• Complexity of the law or facts making consensus difficult.
• Strongly held personal views on the burden of proof (“beyond a reasonable doubt”).

Studies of hung juries also point to trial complexity and communication problems in deliberations as key drivers of deadlock.

Quick HTML summary (for your “Quick Scoop” box)

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<h2>Quick Scoop: What is a Hung Jury?</h2>
<ul>
  <li><strong>Basic idea:</strong> A hung jury is a jury that cannot agree on a verdict by the required margin, even after long deliberations.[web:1][web:2][web:5][web:6][web:9]</li>
  <li><strong>Result:</strong> The judge declares a mistrial; there is no conviction and no acquittal.[web:1][web:2][web:5][web:6][web:9]</li>
  <li><strong>Next steps:</strong> The case can be retried with a new jury, dropped by prosecutors, or resolved in a plea deal.[web:1][web:6][web:9]</li>
  <li><strong>Why it happens:</strong> Jurors are too divided over evidence, witness credibility, or legal standards to reach agreement.[web:1][web:6][web:8][web:9]</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.</em></p>

TL;DR: A hung jury means the jurors are stuck and cannot reach the required agreement on a verdict, so the judge calls a mistrial and the case may be retried, dropped, or resolved in another way.