Can a jury be discharged without having rendered a verdict?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Rosales, B287149 (Cal. App. 2019):

"Section 1140 provides in relevant part that a 'jury cannot be discharged' without having rendered a verdict unless, 'at the expiration of such time as the court may deem proper, it satisfactorily appears that there is no reasonable probability that the jury can agree.' 'The decision whether to declare a hung jury or to order further deliberations rests in the trial court's sound discretion.' [Citations.] However, a court must exercise its power under section 1140 without coercing the jury, and 'avoid displacing the jury's independent judgment "in favor of considerations of compromise and expediency." ' [Citation.] . . . '[A]ny claim that the jury was pressured into reaching a verdict depends on the particular circumstances of the case.' " (People v. Brooks (2017) 3 Cal.5th 1, 88.)

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