Opinion ID: 1355634
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Unlocking the Deadlocked Jury

Text: The jurors began their penalty deliberations on November 14, 1985, at 3:43 p.m. They picked a foreman and were excused for the day. They deliberated from 9:30 to 4:30 the following day, but could not reach a verdict. Deliberations resumed at 9:30 a.m. on November 18. At 2:25 p.m. of that day, the foreman sent the court a note which stated that We, the jury, are at an 11 to 1 vote. The one vote is for life and will not change. The other 11 hold firm for the death penalty. We feel we will be unable to reach a verdict. The court convened the jury. (Because the judge who presided over the trial was unavailable, another judge had been assigned to hear the jury's verdict.) The court asked the foreman if he believed the jury was hopelessly deadlocked. The foreman replied, We've talked it over and yes.... The court asked whether a rereading of the instructions or testimony might help, and the foreman replied that such measures had not been discussed, and that he was not sure they would improve the situation. According to the foreman, the deadlock was reached after only one ballot. The court questioned some of the other jurors, and several of them confirmed the deadlock but expressed the hope that further instructions from the court might assist in bringing about a verdict. Although one juror believed that further deliberations would be futile, another juror disagreed and expressly requested a rereading of the instructions. The court announced its intention to reread the penalty instructions, then dismiss the jurors for the day, and bring them back the following day to resume deliberations. Defense counsel neither objected to this procedure nor offered alternative suggestions. The foreman, however, requested that the instructions be given in the morning So that they're fresh in our mind. The court agreed, and dismissed the jury for the day. The next morning, defense counsel moved for a mistrial on the ground that to force a resumption of deliberations after the jury had announced a deadlocked vote of 11 to 1 in favor of death would be the equivalent of directing a death verdict. The court denied the motion and, after recalling the jury, reread the penalty instructions. Included in these instructions was the admonition that It is the duty of each of you to consider the evidence for the purpose of arriving at a verdict if you can do so. Each of you must decide the case for yourself, but should do so only after a discussion of the evidence and instructions with the other jurors. [¶] You should not hesitate to change an opinion if you are convinced it is erroneous. However, you should not be influenced to decide any question in a particular way because a majority of the jurors, or any of them, favor such a decision. The jurors resumed their deliberations at 9:30 a.m. At noon, the jury was excused for the day because of the personal business of one of the jurors. They reconvened at 9 a.m. on November 20, and 45 minutes later returned their verdict of death. Defendant's unsuccessful motion for new trial argued that the court had coerced the jurors into returning their verdict. That contention is repeated here. The applicable legal principles are well established. Under section 1140, the trial court is precluded from discharging the jury without reaching a verdict unless both parties consent or unless, at the expiration of such time as the court may deem proper, it satisfactorily appears that there is no reasonable probability that the jury can agree. (15) We have explained that [t]he determination whether there is reasonable probability of agreement rests in the sound discretion of the trial court. [Citation.] The court must exercise its power, however, without coercion of the jury, so as to avoid displacing the jury's independent judgment `in favor of considerations of compromise and expediency.' [Citation.] ( People v. Rodriguez, supra, 42 Cal.3d 730, 775; see People v. Rojas (1975) 15 Cal.3d 540, 546 [125 Cal. Rptr. 357, 542 P.2d 229, 92 A.L.R.3d 1127]; People v. Carter (1968) 68 Cal.2d 810, 817 [69 Cal. Rptr. 297, 442 P.2d 353].) (16) No improper coercion occurred here. The trial court made no coercive remarks and exerted no undue pressure on the minority juror to change his vote. (See People v. Rodriguez, supra, at p. 775.) The court merely made a discretionary determination, based on its examination of the jury, that there remained a reasonable probability the deadlock might be broken following a rereading of the penalty instructions. This determination seems entirely reasonable given the fact that, before announcing the deadlock, the jury had deliberated for only two days and had taken only one ballot, and that several jurors had indicated that such a reinstruction might produce a unanimous verdict. Defendant argues, however, that it is inherently coercive to refuse to discharge a jury after learning of an 11-to-1 vote favoring the death penalty. We disagree. There is always a potential for coercion once the trial judge has learned that a unanimous judgment of conviction is being hampered by a single holdout juror favoring acquittal. In such a case, the judge's remarks to the deadlocked jury regarding the clarity of the evidence, the simplicity of the case, the necessity of reaching a unanimous verdict, or even the threat of being locked up for the night might well produce a coerced verdict. (See People v. Carter, supra, 68 Cal.2d 810, 816-820, and cases cited.) But the potential for coercion was not realized by anything said or done by the court in this case. Here, the deadlock proceeding was heard by an assigned judge whose remarks or actions could not have been interpreted by the holdout juror as an agreement with the position taken by the 11 jurors voting for conviction. (See Carter, supra, 68 Cal.2d at pp. 816-817.) Moreover, the court made no remarks either urging that a verdict be reached or indicating possible reprisals for failure to reach agreement. We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in determining that it was reasonably probable the jury could reach a verdict after a rereading of the penalty instructions. (See also Lowenfield v. Phelps (1988) 484 U.S. 231 [98 L.Ed.2d 568, 108 S.Ct. 546] [approving supplemental charge to deadlocked jury in capital case, urging jurors to consult with each other with the objective of achieving a unanimous verdict].)