That means the jury members cannot go home and are kept in hotel rooms where they do not have access to radio, television or newspapers so they cannot be influenced by what the media says about a case. Specific instructions of law to the jury also have to be worked out by the lawyers and the judge. Mayo says this could include such things as definitions of terms brought up during the trial, how to treat circumstantial evidence and how to treat expert witnesses. Once the jury goes into deliberation, it selects a foreman from among its members. The foreman allows everyone to make their views known and keeps the discussion on track.
Deliberations can take hours or even several days because decisions have to be unanimous.
A mistrial can be declared if a jury cannot reach a verdict. In a criminal case, if a guilty verdict is reached, the sentence is usually handed down by the judge at a later date. And guilty or innocent, at the conclusion of the trial the jury is excused with the thanks of the court for carrying out its civic duty. With very few exceptions, Mayo concludes, the jury system does its job properly, and the decisions reached are almost always the same as the judge would have determined if there had been no jury. She points out, however, that in both systems, in the event of a guilty finding, the judge usually determines the sentence.