Jury Instruction - Caution - Punishment - Single Defendant - Single Count

If the jury cannot agree on all counts as to any defendant, the jury may return a verdict on those counts on which it has agreed. . . . If the jury cannot agree on a verdict on one or more counts, the court may declare a mistrial on those counts. A hung jury does not imply either the defendant's guilt or innocence.

A verdict of not guilty constitutes an acquittal. In other words, to find a defendant not guilty is to acquit. At trial, an acquittal occurs when the jury (or the judge if it's a judge trial) determines that the prosecution hasn't proved the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The judge instructs the jury about the relevant laws that should guide its deliberations. (In some jurisdictions, the court may instruct the jury at any time after the close of evidence.The judge reads the instructions to the jury. This is commonly referred to as the judge's charge to the jury.

All jurors should deliberate and vote on each issue to be decided in the case.In a civil case, the judge will tell you how many jurors must agree in order to reach a verdict. In a criminal case, the unanimous agreement of all 12 jurors is required.

Their names come from the list of people who can vote in elections. A jury must listen to all the evidence before they choose their verdict (say if the defendant is guilty or not). This means that all 12 jury members agree with the decision.

These are civil or criminal jury instructions approved by a state court, bench committee, or bar association. They are commonly used by courts in the relevant jurisdiction, as they ease the process of drafting fair jury instructions and theoretically do not have errors.

If even one member of the jury disagrees with the decision of all of the other jurors, the jury is hung. When the jury comes back into the courtroom and announces that they have been unable to reach a verdict, the judge may direct them to go back and keep deliberating until they reach a unanimous verdict.

In short, it is not legal to punish a juror for their verdict. This well-established principle of trial by jury has been the case in the American legal system since its inception and, preceding it, English common law since Bushel's case in 1670.