Today I want to welcome and thank Bhavini Mistry for her contribution on what happens when a jury can not achieve a decision. Please enjoy her post below. Bhavini is currently preparing for the LSAT and plans to attend law school next year.
Recently famous comedian Bill Cosby has been in the news accused of sexual assault by at least three persons. After being taken to trial, the judge declared it a mistrial due to a hung or deadlocked jury. A mistrial is seen as a void or invalid trial which can happen due to unlawful authority or jurisdiction or an unfitting jury. However, more commonly in court, and also in this case, a mistrial occurrs due to the jury not being able to reach a verdict of guilty or not guilty, which is called a hung or deadlocked jury.
Due to the result of the mistrial, there are two options that can occur. One option is that the charges can be dropped if there is no retrial. The other option is what prosecutors against Cosby stated that they will retry this case so the charges still stand. Furthermore, retrials usually give advantage to the prosecution since they will already know how the defense will refute their arguments and, therefore, can change how they will strengthen their case in the retrial. The defense, on the other hand, has a disadvantage since they cannot really make big changes in their strategy since they already know the witnesses and evidence used against them.
A mistrial can be declared by a judge, based on the decision of the jury, a special situation that calls for invalidating the jury or trial, or by petition of the parties if they feel an impartial verdict can be reached. It is another tool in our legal arsenal to keep our system of justice fair to everybody.
Recently famous comedian Bill Cosby has been in the news accused of sexual assault by at least three persons. After being taken to trial, the judge declared it a mistrial due to a hung or deadlocked jury. A mistrial is seen as a void or invalid trial which can happen due to unlawful authority or jurisdiction or an unfitting jury. However, more commonly in court, and also in this case, a mistrial occurrs due to the jury not being able to reach a verdict of guilty or not guilty, which is called a hung or deadlocked jury.
Due to the result of the mistrial, there are two options that can occur. One option is that the charges can be dropped if there is no retrial. The other option is what prosecutors against Cosby stated that they will retry this case so the charges still stand. Furthermore, retrials usually give advantage to the prosecution since they will already know how the defense will refute their arguments and, therefore, can change how they will strengthen their case in the retrial. The defense, on the other hand, has a disadvantage since they cannot really make big changes in their strategy since they already know the witnesses and evidence used against them.
A mistrial can be declared by a judge, based on the decision of the jury, a special situation that calls for invalidating the jury or trial, or by petition of the parties if they feel an impartial verdict can be reached. It is another tool in our legal arsenal to keep our system of justice fair to everybody.