Opinion ID: 733989
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Purported Second Allen Instruction

Text: 12 De La Cruz contends that Judge Brewster's comments to the jury constituted a second Allen charge. Giving an Allen charge twice is reversible error. United States v. Seawell, 550 F.2d 1159, 1162-63 (9th Cir.1977). In evaluating the underlying facts concerning the coerciveness of an Allen charge, an appeals court reviews de novo the totality of the circumstances. See Jiminez v. Myers, 40 F.3d 976, 979-80 (per curiam), cert. denied, 116 S.Ct. 63 (1995). 1 13 In the case before us, Judge Brewster did not give an explicit Allen instruction to the jury since he did not ask them to reconsider their positions in the jury deliberations, nor did he encourage them to come to a verdict. Judge Brewster merely asked the jury if further deliberations would be helpful. Simply questioning a jury to determine if any progress is being made is not an Allen charge. United States v. Cuozzo, 962 F.2d 945, 951 (9th Cir.1992). 14 In addition to asking if progress had been made, however, Judge Brewster also informed the jury that a mistrial might occur. De La Cruz contends that Judge Brewster's comments regarding the mistrial possibility constituted a de facto Allen charge under Jiminez. Jiminez v. Myers, 40 F.3d at 980. 15 The present case is distinguishable from Jiminez. Judge Brewster did not ask the jurors about their votes, but merely queried them about the usefulness of further deliberations. Moreover, Judge Brewster did not repeatedly poll the jury in an attempt to encourage movement towards a verdict. Nor did Judge Brewster isolate any jurors who had the minority position. In addition, following Judge Brewster's comments, the jurors did not return to deliberate until the weekend had passed. If any coercive effect from Judge Brewster's comments existed, they would likely have dissipated by that time. 16 Thus, Judge Brewster's comments did not rise to the level of a de facto Allen instruction. The trial court did not commit error.