FaithInSpiteOf
Junior Member
This is a Colorado question.
My husband was tried three times in a Colorado courtroom for the same offense(s). The first trial resulted in a guilty verdict but was overturned by the trial judge for being highly prejudicial (which is an understatement).
The second trial is where my question stems from. After two days of deliberation the jury handed the judge a note asking him if they could reach a unanimous verdict on some incidents if they were deadlocked on others. Without answering their question the judge told them to read the jury instruction and sent them back to deliberate.
The jury returned again and said they were still deadlocked on one incident but had reached a unanimous verdict on others. He read them an Allen charge and sent them back to deliberate once again.
The jury returned again and said they were hopelessly deadlocked on one incident, at which time the judge declared a mistrial due to a hung jury.
The jurors were polled after the mistrial and they had found my husband not guilty of 6 charges and were deadlocked on one charge. The one charge they deadlocked on had 2 subsequent charges surrounding it, so there were 3 charges in total they deadlocked on.
My husband was tried once again and found guilty of 5 of the 9 charges and sentenced to 8 years to life. One of the charges they found him guilty of was a charge the 2nd set of jurors had voted not guilty on.
Here's my question: Is it the judge's sole discretion whether or not to accept a partial verdict? Did he have the right to declare a mistrial by hung jury when the jurors HAD reached verdicts on most of the charges?
Thank you
My husband was tried three times in a Colorado courtroom for the same offense(s). The first trial resulted in a guilty verdict but was overturned by the trial judge for being highly prejudicial (which is an understatement).
The second trial is where my question stems from. After two days of deliberation the jury handed the judge a note asking him if they could reach a unanimous verdict on some incidents if they were deadlocked on others. Without answering their question the judge told them to read the jury instruction and sent them back to deliberate.
The jury returned again and said they were still deadlocked on one incident but had reached a unanimous verdict on others. He read them an Allen charge and sent them back to deliberate once again.
The jury returned again and said they were hopelessly deadlocked on one incident, at which time the judge declared a mistrial due to a hung jury.
The jurors were polled after the mistrial and they had found my husband not guilty of 6 charges and were deadlocked on one charge. The one charge they deadlocked on had 2 subsequent charges surrounding it, so there were 3 charges in total they deadlocked on.
My husband was tried once again and found guilty of 5 of the 9 charges and sentenced to 8 years to life. One of the charges they found him guilty of was a charge the 2nd set of jurors had voted not guilty on.
Here's my question: Is it the judge's sole discretion whether or not to accept a partial verdict? Did he have the right to declare a mistrial by hung jury when the jurors HAD reached verdicts on most of the charges?
Thank you