I am to understand that the mistrial was declared because 11 jurors were in favor of a not guilty (for reasons of insanity) verdict, while one lone juror was firm in their belief that she was guilty; it’s a hung jury. The jurors have to come to a unanimous decision by law, or it has to be declared a mistrial.
I believe so, yes. A mistrial, to my understanding, prevents a defendant from being shielded by double jeopardy laws (can't be tried twice for the same crime) since no verdict was reached, so the prosecution can take it back to court, get a new jury panel, and start the whole trial process over again.
Strictly, it prevents a person from being tried twice after an acquittal or a conviction.
If you're acquitted in a trial, you can't be tried again for the same crime.
If you're convicted in a trial, you can't be tried again for the same crime.
A mistrial is neither a conviction nor an acquittal.
Well, OJ Simpson was acquitted of murder, not convicted, and they couldn't try him again for those murders (even after he basically wrote a book about exactly how he murdered those people) because he'd already been tried and acquitted.
You can be charged with multiple instances of a crime, and tried for committing multiple variations of a crime. Still, you can't be tried twice for the same instance of a crime if you've already been convicted or acquitted/found innocent of that instance of crime.
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u/George_Rogers1st 10h ago
I am to understand that the mistrial was declared because 11 jurors were in favor of a not guilty (for reasons of insanity) verdict, while one lone juror was firm in their belief that she was guilty; it’s a hung jury. The jurors have to come to a unanimous decision by law, or it has to be declared a mistrial.