{"id":369036,"date":"2016-04-04T10:47:07","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/litigation\/legal-system\/must-all-jury-verdicts-be-unanimous.html"},"modified":"2024-05-29T09:30:31","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T14:30:31","slug":"must-all-jury-verdicts-be-unanimous","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/litigation\/legal-system\/must-all-jury-verdicts-be-unanimous.html","title":{"rendered":"Must All Jury Verdicts Be Unanimous?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Must All Jury Verdicts Be Unanimous?<\/h1>\n
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\n By Susan Buckner, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Melissa Bender, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

At the end of a trial, both sides rest. The jury goes to the jury room to deliberate. The jurors discuss the evidence and testimony before voting on their verdict. Sometimes, the verdict is unanimous, but there are also non-unanimous verdicts. When are unanimous verdicts required, and when can some jurors disagree? And why does it make a difference? What happens if there is no verdict?<\/p>\r\n

Juries and Verdicts in Criminal Trials<\/h2>\r\n

Most of the concern over unanimity in verdicts arises from criminal trials. A long history of case law and Constitutional interpretation establishes that criminal trials must have 12 jurors. In federal court, juries must reach a unanimous verdict in all criminal proceedings.<\/p>\r\n

State courts have required unanimous verdicts<\/a> since 2020. Before that year, nearly all states followed the federal criminal trial<\/a> procedure. Two states\u2014Oregon and Louisiana\u2014allowed non-unanimous jury verdicts. In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld these types of verdicts in Apodaca v. Oregon<\/i><\/a> (406 U.S. 404) (1972).<\/p>\r\n

In 2020, the Court overturned Apodaca<\/i> with Ramos v. Louisiana<\/i><\/a> (140 U.S. 1390). The Court reasoned that a deeper historical examination of the criminal justice system revealed an intentional bias against some jurors. The non-unanimous verdict helped ensure guilty verdicts for African Americans by eliminating one or two African American "not-guilty" votes (Justice Kavanaugh concurrence at 1418).<\/p>\r\n

The current position of federal and state courts<\/a> is that the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments require unanimous verdicts to convict a criminal defendant.<\/p>\r\n

Federal Court Civil Verdicts Must Be Unanimous<\/h2>\r\n

The Seventh Amendment grants litigants the constitutional right to a jury in a federal civil trial where the amount at issue is greater than "twenty dollars," a vast sum in 1787. Today, most federal court trials are nowhere near that sum.<\/p>\r\n

Most federal civil cases involve civil rights violations, First Amendment rights violations, or diversity cases transferred from state courts. Very few original jurisdiction cases involving money arrive directly in federal court.<\/p>\r\n

State Court Jury Verdicts: Unanimity Not Always Required<\/h2>\r\n

State courts now require juries and unanimous verdicts for criminal procedures. A defendant may waive a jury trial and request a bench trial<\/a> if they wish. The Sixth Amendment grants a defendant the right to a jury from the area (not a "jury of your peers") and to a unanimous verdict in criminal cases.<\/p>\r\n

States are not required to provide a jury for civil trials. Small claims cases don’t have juries. Twenty-seven states allow non-unanimous verdicts for civil trials. Non-unanimous verdicts depend on the number of people in a jury. For instance, if there are six people on a jury, then at least five must render a verdict. If there are 12, at least nine must agree.<\/p>\r\n

What Is a Hung Jury?<\/h2>\r\n

In both civil and criminal trials, if the jury can’t agree on a verdict, they report back to the judge. If the judge feels the jury has not deliberated long enough, they will keep trying. A "hung jury" occurs when the jury is hopelessly deadlocked.<\/p>\r\n

Depending on the state, the judge may keep sending the jury back to deliberate or ask if the jury is having trouble with one specific issue. The judge may issue an Allen charge<\/a>. Also known as a dynamite, hammer, or shotgun charge, an Allen charge is a stern reminder about the seriousness of the jurors’ duties and the importance of reaching a verdict.<\/p>\r\n

If there’s more than one reason for the jury’s inability to reach a unanimous verdict, or some jurors refuse to vote with the rest of the jury, the judge must declare a mistrial<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

Consequences of a Mistrial<\/h2>\r\n

If the judge declares a civil mistrial, the case returns to the plaintiff. The plaintiff has the option of retrying the lawsuit or dropping the case. If the only issue was that the jury could not agree, nothing prevents the plaintiff from refiling the case.<\/p>\r\n

After a criminal mistrial, the case waits while the state decides what to do next. For serious crimes, the defendant is not released. But for lesser crimes, the defendant may ask for bond until a new trial is set.<\/p>\r\n

The prosecution will review the case and either:<\/p>\r\n