Who can declare a mistrial?

judge
A judge may declare a mistrial for several reasons, including lack of jurisdiction, incorrect jury selection, or a deadlocked, or hung, jury. A deadlocked jury—where the jurors cannot agree over the defendant’s guilt or innocence—is a common reason for declaring a mistrial.

Can a judge declare a mistrial after a verdict?

This direction is most commonly known as an Allen charge. If a verdict still cannot be delivered, at some point the judge will declare a mistrial due to the hung jury. (Mistrials can happen for other reasons, so when a trial ends in a mistrial, it is not necessarily due to a hung jury.)

Can the jury declare a mistrial?

If the jury cannot agree on a verdict on one or more counts, the court may declare a mistrial on those counts. The government may retry any defendant on any count on which the jury could not agree.

Can there be a mistrial in a bench trial?

It is very rare for a judge in a bench trial to grant a motion for a mistrial.

When can you motion for mistrial?

A mistrial occurs when 1) a jury is unable to reach a verdict and there must be a new trial with a new jury; 2) there is a serious procedural error or misconduct that would result in an unfair trial, and the judge adjourns the case without a decision on the merits and awards a new trial.

What does mistrial mean in jury?

A mistrial is a trial that is not completed. Instead, it is halted and declared invalid, usually before a verdict is delivered. Mistrials may occur for a variety of reasons. In other words, when a trial is halted due to a hung jury, that is a mistrial. However, not all mistrials result from a hung jury.

What happens after a mistrial is declared?

What Happens After a Mistrial? After a mistrial, the court may bring an individual back to trial later or the prosecution may choose to drop all charges. If they drop the charges, this means, in the law’s eyes, the trial never happened and the prosecution never brought charges against the defense.

What does it mean when a mistrial is declared?

mistrial, in law, a trial that has been terminated and declared void before the tribunal can hand down a decision or render a verdict. The termination of a trial prematurely nullifies the preceding proceedings as if they had not taken place.

What does declaring a mistrial mean?

How is a mistrial determined?

There are several factors that can result in a mistrial, including the death of an attorney or juror (if the latter is not replaceable by an alternate); a remark that would be highly prejudicial to a party and that the judge may feel cannot, in spite of instructions, be ignored by the jury; or the discovery that …

What is a mistrial motion?

During a trial the prosecution or defense can put a motion up to the judge for a mistrial, which is essentially a request to end the trial. A common reason for mistrials are hung juries that have been unable to come to consensus on guilt.

What is declare a mistrial?

mistrial, in law, a trial that has been terminated and declared void before the tribunal can hand down a decision or render a verdict. Most often, a mistrial may be declared if the jury itself cannot arrive at a verdict after repeated attempts (i.e., if it is a hung jury).