How long jurors deliberate

If a jury sends a note saying they are deadlocked, the judge can give them an instruction urging them to try harder to reach an agreement. The judge also often informs the jury that, if they cannot reach a verdict, the case will likely be tried over again before another jury, who will probably hear the same evidence and have similar difficulties.

The Allen Charge comes from the U. United States. The case involved year-old defendant Alexander Allen who was tried and convicted twice of murder for killing year-old Philip Henson in Arkansas. The Judge instructed the jury to re-examine their thoughts, leading to what is now known as the Allen Charge. Our original story about how jury deliberations work is below.

The murder case against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, charged in the killing of George Floyd while in police custody last year, is now in the hands of the jury. The panel of 12 began deliberations Monday afternoon after a full day of closing arguments.

On Thursday, the defense and the state finished presenting evidence, without any testimony from Chauvin. The former officer invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to take the stand. Chauvin is charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Click on a link to jump to a section.

The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide in his report last June. Before and after the closing arguments, Judge Peter Cahill presented the jury with instructions. These are crucial to deliberations, as it guides jurors on how they should consider the charges against Chauvin, said Mitchell Hamline School of Law adjunct professor Angela Porter.

Porter said jury instructions are also important because if Chauvin is convicted, he may appeal based on what he thinks were faulty jury instructions, or essentially that he disagrees with how the judge interpreted the relevant statutes.

Chauvin is facing three charges: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The state does not have to prove that Chauvin intended to kill Floyd for the jury to convict him of any of the three charges.

The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Chauvin's use of force was not authorized by law. If Chauvin had decided to take the stand, it could have helped present him in a more human light, perhaps by him expressing remorse. Much of what jurors have seen of Chauvin is a man sitting quietly behind a mask in the courtroom — or video footage of him kneeling on Floyd. Chauvin would have faced considerable risks had he chosen to testify. They also would have walked him, and jurors, through damaging video evidence and interrogated him about police training and policies.

Chauvin had a constitutional right to remain silent. Cahill will read instructions to the jury making that clear:. The defendant has no obligation to prove innocence.

The defendant has the right not to testify. In most cases, the judge will refer jurors back to their jury instructions. The jurors won't get any new evidence. Typically, the jurors, defendant, attorneys for both sides and the judge return to the courtroom where the jury's questions are read and answered on the record.

But in this case jury questions will be answered over Zoom. Cahill said he doesn't want to move the jury around and doesn't want people coming and going from the courthouse. He didn't say publicly if this was due to the pandemic, the high-profile nature of the case, or both. The jurors will have a verdict form for each count.

When the verdict forms for each count are completed, they will be placed in an envelope, sealed and given to a deputy who will give them to the court. The jurors selected for the case said they could weigh the evidence fairly and impartially.

And the judge reminded them of that as they embarked on deliberations. If there is disagreement, then the deliberations begin in earnest. The jury will be given a laptop computer with the audio and video evidence from the trial. They will have a large monitor in the room to view the items. Under prior court rules, jurors had to return to court to play videos. But in this case, they will be able to view video evidence as they need to during deliberations.

Some of the evidence presented at trial, called demonstrative evidence, will not be provided. Those include items like legal definitions of terms brought up in court, or graphics used to explain expert analysis.

But all other evidence, including the widely viewed bystander video, is fair game. Jurors were allowed to take notes during the trial and may use those during deliberations to refresh their memories.