Abstract

Providing an empirical picture of hung juries was the principal objective for this 4-year study by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) with funding by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The research methodology was envisioned as a two-phase process. In the first phase, the NCSC proposed to conduct a broad-based survey of hung jury rates in state and federal courts while the second phase consisted of an in-depth examination of jury behavior in 10 jurisdictions to compare case and jury characteristics in felony trials that result in a verdict to those that result in jury deadlock. The types of factors that the NCSC proposed to study in the in-depth examination included case characteristics such as case type, complexity, and evidentiary factors; trial procedures including voir dire and trial techniques related to jury performance; jury demographics and attitudes; and jury dynamics during deliberations including participation rates and levels of conflict.

The report is organized into seven chapters. Chapter 1 consists of a literature review that provides a comprehensive update of the existing literature related to jury deadlock. Chapter 2 discusses the findings from our broad-based survey of hung jury rates in state and federal courts. Chapter 3 describes the study methods employed for the project. Chapter 4 and 5 discuss the findings from the examination of hung juries in four courts. Chapter 6 uses a case study approach to examine the specific reasons that the juries deadlocked in the 46 cases in our sample. Chapter 7 provides conclusions and policy recommendations based on the study findings.

This abstract has been taken from the authors' introduction.

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

9-2002

Publication Information

National Center for State Courts (2002)

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