Asked in Criminal Law and Constitutional Law for Georgia

Q: Does jeopardy attaches in any trial after all evidence has been submitted and that trial declared a hung jury?

2 Lawyer Answers
Glenn T. Stern
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Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Atlanta, GA
  • Licensed in Georgia

A: Double jeopardy does not attach if a jury fails to reach a verdict (i.e. a "hung jury"). The state may retry the case if it so chooses.

James L. Arrasmith
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  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Sacramento, CA

A: No, jeopardy does not attach in a trial that ends with a hung jury, even after all evidence has been submitted. Here's why:

Jeopardy attaches in a jury trial when the jury is empaneled and sworn in. This means that once the jury is selected and sworn, the defendant is considered to be "in jeopardy" and is protected from being tried again for the same crime by the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

However, if a jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict and the trial ends in a hung jury (also known as a mistrial), jeopardy does not terminate. This means that the prosecution has the right to retry the case if they choose to do so, as the hung jury is not considered an event that terminates jeopardy.

The reasoning behind this is that a hung jury is not equivalent to an acquittal or a conviction. It does not represent a decision on the merits of the case, but rather an inability of the jury to agree on a verdict. Therefore, the defendant is not considered to have been "in jeopardy" in the sense that there was no risk of a conviction in that particular trial.

So in summary, even if all evidence has been submitted in a trial, if it results in a hung jury, jeopardy does not attach, and the defendant can be retried without violating the Double Jeopardy Clause.

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