In civil cases there is a jury of 12, with a minimum of 10 needed to continue the trial. If jurors drop out because of illness or another reason, the trial can continue with a minimum of 12 jurors, but the support of eight jurors is still needed for a guilty verdict anything less is treated as an acquittal. Juries consist of 15, and verdicts are decided by simple majority (eight) of the initial membership. It is not possible to have a hung jury in Scotland in criminal cases. The protocol is followed separately for each charge. When the jury is called to deliver a verdict after majority directions have been given, a careful protocol of questions is followed: only in the event of a guilty verdict is it then asked whether or not all jurors were agreed on that verdict, to prevent any acquittal from being tainted by it being disclosed that any jurors dissented. If they fail to reach a unanimous verdict, the judge may later (after not less than two hours ) give directions that a majority verdict will be acceptable, although the jury should continue to try to reach a unanimous verdict if possible. Initially, the jury will be directed to try to reach a unanimous verdict. Failure to reach this may lead to a retrial ( R v. If fewer jurors remain, majorities allowed are 11–0, 10–1, 10–0, 9–1 and 9–0. In England and Wales a majority of at least 10 votes out of 12 is needed for a verdict. If the retrial also results in a hung jury, the case must be referred to the Solicitor-General, who will generally issue a stay of proceedings unless there are compelling reasons to proceed with a third trial. ![]() If the jury fails to reach either a unanimous or majority verdict after a reasonable time, the presiding judge may declare a hung jury, and a new panel of jurors will be selected for a retrial. ![]() 11–1 with a full jury) in civil cases, a three-quarters (75%) vote is needed (i.e. In criminal cases, an all-but-one vote is needed (i.e. If the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict after a reasonable time given the nature and complexity of the case (but not less than four hours), then the court may accept a majority verdict. In New Zealand, the jury must initially try to reach a unanimous verdict. a 5–1 vote) the dissenter can be ignored with the majority opinion becoming the final verdict. In civil cases, only six people are necessary for a jury, and if there is only one dissenter (i.e. Each jury in criminal courts contains 12 jurors. A new panel of jurors will be selected for the retrial. If the jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, a hung jury is declared. In Canada, the jury must reach a unanimous decision on criminal cases. Australian Capital Territory and Commonwealth courts require unanimous verdicts in criminal (but not civil) trials. Majority (or supermajority verdicts) are in force in South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. This situation can occur only in common law legal systems, because civil law systems either do not use juries at all or provide that the defendant is immediately acquitted if the majority or supermajority required for conviction is not reached during a single, solemn vote. Hung juries usually result in the case being tried again. A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority.
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