Judiciary And Legal Systems Questions
A mistrial occurs when a trial is terminated before a final verdict is reached due to a significant error or misconduct that affects the fairness of the proceedings. This could include issues such as jury tampering, prejudicial evidence, or a procedural error. In contrast, a hung jury refers to a situation where the jury is unable to reach a unanimous decision on the defendant's guilt or innocence after a reasonable amount of deliberation. In a hung jury, the jurors may be deadlocked, with some favoring conviction and others favoring acquittal. As a result, the judge declares a mistrial, and the case may be retried with a new jury.