Opinion ID: 351542
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Declaration of a Mistrial.

Text: 51 Because of the need to accommodate both the interests of the public and the individual, the Supreme Court has fashioned a broad balancing test under which the determination that a mistrial has occurred will not bar a subsequent retrial if, all factors considered, there is either (1) manifest necessity for the discharge of the original proceedings, or (2) the ends of public justice would otherwise be defeated. United States v. Perez, 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 579, 6 L.Ed. 165 (1824); Illinois v. Somerville, 410 U.S. 458, 461, 93 S.Ct. 1066, 35 L.Ed.2d 425 (1973); United States v. Jorn, 400 U.S. 470, 481, 91 S.Ct. 547, 27 L.Ed.2d 543 (1971). 52 The Supreme Court has explicitly and repeatedly refused to make the standard any more precise. See, e. g., Illinois v. Somerville, supra, 410 U.S. at 462, 93 S.Ct. 1066; United States v. Jorn, supra, 400 U.S. at 485-86, 91 S.Ct. 547; Gori v. United States, 367 U.S. 364, 368, 81 S.Ct. 1523, 6 L.Ed.2d 901 (1960); Wade v. Hunter, 336 U.S. 684, 691, 69 S.Ct. 834, 93 L.Ed. 974 (1949). 53 In spite of the Supreme Court's efforts to eschew any rigid or mechanical rules, it has become well-established law that the paradigm example of manifest necessity sufficient to permit a second trial of a defendant in a criminal case occurs when the jury cannot reach a verdict. Downum v. United States, 372 U.S. 734, 736, 83 S.Ct. 1033, 10 L.Ed.2d 100 (1963); Keerl v. Montana, 213 U.S. 135, 29 S.Ct. 469, 53 L.Ed. 734 (1909); Dreyer v. Illinois, 187 U.S. 71, 85-86, 23 S.Ct. 28, 47 L.Ed. 79 (1902); United States v. See, 505 F.2d 845 (9 Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 420 U.S. 992, 95 S.Ct. 1428, 43 L.Ed.2d 673 (1974); Forsberg v. United States, 351 F.2d 242 (9 Cir. 1965), cert. denied, 383 U.S. 950, 86 S.Ct. 1209, 16 L.Ed.2d 212 (1966). So long as the trial judge has not abused his discretion, a mistrial because of inability to reach a verdict will not bar a second trial. 54 Courts have isolated a number of significant factors which are useful in determining whether a judge has properly exercised his discretion to declare a deadlocked jury. These include: (1) a timely objection by defendant, (2) the jury's collective opinion that it cannot agree, (3) the length of the deliberations of the jury, (4) the length of the trial, (5) the complexity of the issues presented to the jury, (6) any proper communications which the judge has had with the jury, and (7) the effects of possible exhaustion and the impact which coercion of further deliberations might have on the verdict. See, United States v. Gordy, 526 F.2d 631, 635-36 (5 Cir. 1976); United States ex rel. Webb v. Court of Common Pleas, 516 F.2d 1031 (majority and dissenting opinions); United States v. See, supra at 851-52; United States ex rel. Russo v. Superior Court of New Jersey Law Division, Passaic County, et al., 438 F.2d 7, 16 (3 Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1023, 94 S.Ct. 447, 38 L.Ed.2d 315 (1973); United States v. Goldstein, 479 F.2d 1061, 1068 (2 Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 873, 94 S.Ct. 151, 38 L.Ed.2d 113 (1973); United States v. Lansdown, 460 F.2d 164, 170 (4 Cir. 1972). 55 The application of these factors in the present case shows adequate support for the trial judge's determination that the jury was hopelessly deadlocked. The most critical factor is the jury's own statement that it was unable to reach a verdict. United States v. See, supra at 851. Upon receiving a communication from the jury stating that it cannot agree, the trial court must question the jury to determine independently whether further deliberations might overcome the deadlock. United States v. See, supra at 851; United States v. Goldstein, supra at 1068-69. Merely questioning the jury foreman may not be sufficient, but this circuit has recently held that questioning the foreman individually and the jury either individually or as a group is satisfactory. United States v. See, supra at 851. At trial below the judge asked the foreman himself and the jury as a group whether they felt there was a reasonable probability of reaching a verdict. Only one juror felt there was. 56 There is no minimum amount of time which a jury must spend in deliberations before a mistrial can be declared. This factor is one which is best left to the determination of the trial judge who was most aware of the circumstances of the trial. United States v. See, supra at 852, n. 12; United States v. Goldstein, supra at 1069; United States v. Lansdown, supra at 169. This was a short trial of ordinary complexity. Twelve hours is not an unreasonably short time for the jury to reach a deadlock. 3 57 Also, the judge might have determined that requiring the jury to further deliberate could result in an unfair verdict. Coercion of an already exhausted jury to continue deliberations may induce jurors to accommodate a verdict which they would not otherwise support. See United States v. See, supra at 852; United States ex rel. Russo v. Superior Court of New Jersey Law Division, Passaic County, et al., supra at 15. 58 Such compulsion may have resulted in nothing more than needless waste of judicial resources and time if the jury was actually deadlocked. See United States v. See, supra at 851; United States v. Goldstein, supra at 1068. The record does not tell whether these considerations entered the mind of the trial judge, but their subtle presence in almost every case is additional reason to defer to the district judge's finding. 59 The trial judge did not abuse his discretion to declare a mistrial. The finding that the jury was hopelessly deadlocked amounted to manifest necessity for purposes of double jeopardy and permits a second trial. 60