Being a Juror in a Criminal Trial

[Delahanty]

Originally Posted by Matadora

No this was not how it was explained to us during the trial. His attorney asked us for an acquittal.

In CA this is how the process works: CA Codes (pen:1147-1168)




"Jury Trials" in California Criminal Cases

The verdict

If the jury unanimously finds the defendant "not guilty" on all charges, the case is dismissed, and the defendant goes free.

If even one member of the jury panel disagrees with the rest, the jury is hung. A "hung jury" results in either:

(1) a mistrial (which means the case may be retried with a new jury)
(2) a plea bargain to a reduced charge that carries a lesser sentence
(3) a dismissal of the case.

Uh...in other words, there is no acquittal in the event of a hung jury--which is what you initially posted, and which we all know (or should know) is not true.

[Matadora]

Originally Posted by Delahanty

Uh...in other words, there is no acquittal in the event of a hung jury--which is what you initially posted, and which we all know (or should know) is not true.

Uh...this has already been discussed in the this thread...not sure what your point is in trying to rehash it once again. But here we go again.

No, what I initially posted was this: If one juror in this case voted not guilty for each charge it would have resulted in an acquittal.

Then I realized that I made a posting error and clarified what I really meant.

Keep in mind that every state has it's own rules for acquittal.

This is the type of acquittal the defendants attorney was asking us the jury for.

Acquittal A decision by the trier-of-fact (the judge if a non-jury trial, otherwise the jury) that there was not enough evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to decide that the defendant committed the crime(s) with which he or she was charged. It is not a finding of “innocence” although it could mean that the jury thinks the defendant did not commit the crime. On the other hand, an acquittal could mean the jury had some belief that defendant committed the crime, but it also had some doubts.