Opinion ID: 751894
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Was the district court's Allen instruction coercive?

Text: 75 Appellant Sehorn argues that the district court's modified Allen instruction was coercive. The district court gave this instruction after the jury advised the court that it was unable to reach a consensus with regard to the charges against Sehorn arising from the July 11 robbery. The district court instructed the jury that it should attempt to reach a unanimous verdict if each of you can do so without violating your individual judgment and conscience. The court then instructed the foreman to continue deliberations if any juror feels that further deliberations might lead to a verdict. The jury returned guilty verdicts as to Sehorn the next day. 76 The trial court's decision to instruct the jury with an Allen instruction is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Hernandez, 105 F.3d 1330, 1333 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 227, 139 L.Ed.2d 160 (1997) (citation omitted). The trial court's deliverance of an Allen instruction must be upheld unless it is clear from the record that the charge had an impermissibly coercive effect on the jury. Id. (quoting United States v. Lorenzo, 43 F.3d 1303, 1307 (9th Cir.1995)). 77 Four factors are considered in assessing the potential coercive effect of an Allen instruction: (1) the form of the instruction given; (2) the period of jury deliberation following the instruction; (3) the total time of deliberation; and (4) any indicia of coerciveness or pressure upon the jury. See United States v. Wauneka, 842 F.2d 1083, 1088 (9th Cir.1988). 78 Sehorn argues that the one-day period of jury deliberation following the instruction demonstrates coercion. But Sehorn does not offer any reason why this is so. He merely cites a case from this circuit for the proposition that three and one-half hours of deliberation was insufficient to show coercion. See United States v. Beattie, 613 F.2d 762, 765 (9th Cir.1980). However, that same case noted that while the time elapsed between the verdict and the charge is significant, it is not dispositive. Id. Sehorn offers no reason why a one-day deliberation was coercive, and no reason is apparent from the record. 79 Sehorn also argues that one of the jurors overheard a marshal say something disparaging about the length of time the jury was spending deliberating. However, the juror did not know if the marshal was even referring to this particular jury. Additionally, all jurors stated that the marshal's comment did not affect their deliberations or influence their verdict in any way. Thus, there is no evidence that the comment was in any way coercive. 80 Other indicia of coercion were also not present. The district court did not mention the possible expense of a retrial. See United States v. Mason, 658 F.2d 1263, 1267 (9th Cir.1981). There was no indication that the district court knew the numerical division of the jury, or even which way the jury was leaning. See United States v. Easter, 66 F.3d at 1023. There is no evidence to suggest that the district court gave the Allen instruction in an atmosphere of frustration over the deadlock. See United States v. Bonam, 772 F.2d 1449, 1451 (9th Cir.1985). 81 Thus, the record shows no evidence of coercion regarding the Allen instruction. The district court did not abuse its discretion. 82