Jury disagreements

Victor

How do jury disagreements work? In the law report in today's Irish Times, there was a case where a jury had reached a decision on one charge, but disagreed on other(s).

Carawaystick

I presume when several charges are placed against a person n the same trial ( or against several defendants in the same trial) the jury may not agree on the same verdict for all charges or defendants. I think in Catherine Nevin she was acquitted on one of the 3(or4) charges against her.

are you referring to the law report about the two mistrials form Mon June30?


I presume a disagreement is where some jurors decide one way and more decide the other way? verdicts start off being unanimous and sometimes the judge lets 11-1 or 10-2 verdicts

Or do you mean what happens regarding the charge with no verdict? is it a mistrial?

Our man in Havana

I would say it is a mistrial and that the DPP can go again with a new jury panel.

Victor

Apologies, how does one get a jury disagreement, not what happens afterwards.

On the follouing scale, what counts as Guilty, Not guilty or Jury Disagreement?

Guilty: Not guilty
0:12 = Not Guilty
1:11 =
2:10 =
3:9 =
4:8 =
5:7 =
6:6 =
7:5 =
8:4 =
9:3 =
10:2 =
11:1 =
12:0 = Guilty

Carawaystick

I'm guesing here but 3:9 -> 9:3
and sometimes 10:2 &2:10

I've heard of cases were only 11:1 majority verdicts were allowed by the judge, not 10:2

johnnyskeleton

First of all, the jury are given a unanimous charge i.e. they must all agree one way or the other. After some time (usually 2 hours) if they haven't made their minds up the judge can give them a majority charge. This means that they can bring in a verdict of at least 10 jurors. So there are two scales.

Unanimous charge

Guilty: Not guilty

0:12 = Not Guilty
1:11 = hung jury / disagreement
2:10 = hung jury / disagreement
3:9 = hung jury / disagreement
4:8 = hung jury / disagreement
5:7 = hung jury / disagreement
6:6 = hung jury / disagreement
7:5 = hung jury / disagreement
8:4 = hung jury / disagreement
9:3 = hung jury / disagreement
10:2 = hung jury / disagreement
11:1 = hung jury / disagreement
12:0 = Guilty

Majority charge

Guilty: Not guilty

0:12 = Not Guilty
1:11 = Not Guilty
2:10 = Not Guilty
3:9 = hung jury / disagreement
4:8 = hung jury / disagreement
5:7 = hung jury / disagreement
6:6 = hung jury / disagreement
7:5 = hung jury / disagreement
8:4 = hung jury / disagreement
9:3 = hung jury / disagreement
10:2 = Guilty
11:1 = Guilty
12:0 = Guilty

Victor

So having even one or two dissenting voices will result in a (formal) disagreement.

One wonders how there aren't more disagreements - are cases that clear cut? Surely in cases where the evidence was nearly good enough to convict, some people would say 'guilty'?

Our man in Havana

Is there a time limit where the judge will stop the jury and declare a mistrial?

johnnyskeleton

Victor wrote: »

So having even one or two dissenting voices will result in a (formal) disagreement.

I suppose so, but more likely it is at least 3 as it is rare that a judge wouldn't give a majority charge.

Victor wrote: »

One wonders how there aren't more disagreements - are cases that clear cut? Surely in cases where the evidence was nearly good enough to convict, some people would say 'guilty'?

Have you not seen twelve angry men? There's a Henry Fonda in every jury (but there's also a Lee J. Cobb). The Americans have done lots of studies on juries, one interesting thing I've heard is that early on a few jury members will establish themselves as dominant, and they will persuade the other jurors to vote with them. So herd mentality being what it is, the dissenters will often cave to pressure from the others (or so I imagine anyways).

johnnyskeleton

Bond-007 wrote: »

Is there a time limit where the judge will stop the jury and declare a mistrial?

Back in the bad old days, when jurys were locked in a room without food nor fire until they reached a verdict, it was usually when one of the jurors had died.

In modern times there is no limit, it's up to the Judge's discretion. In reality they will never deliberate for more than a few days. There are cases about how long the jury should deliberate on any given day, and I believe that keeping a jury after 7pm has been criticised by the Court of Criminal Appeal.

BTW, only an appeal court will declare a mistrial, if they cannot reach a verdict it's a jury disagreement or a hung jury.