New York Criminal Attorney Blog
In criminal trials, juries must reach unanimous verdicts, which means all jurors must find a defendant guilty in order for the defendant to receive a guilty verdict. In a perfect world, jurors are able to deliberate and come to a verdict without the influence of the judge’s opinion regarding the case’s outcome. In a recent New York case, however, things took a turn when the higher court found that the trial court judge influenced jury members too heavily during their deliberations.
In the case before the Appellate Division, Second Department, the State charged the defendant with conspiracy and criminal possession of a controlled substance. The defendant pled not guilty, and his case went to trial. After both sides presented evidence, the jury went back to deliberate.
Jury Deliberations
After two days of deliberation, the jury submitted a note to the judge indicating that “after intense discussion,” they were unable to reach a unanimous decision. The judge advised the jury to try again, and after one more day, the jury again submitted a note that they were unable to reach a decision. Again, the judge advised the jury to keep trying. On the fourth day of deliberations, the jury again submitted a note indicating that the members were “hopelessly deadlocked.”
In response, the judge remarked to the jurors, “everybody has invested a lot of time and effort into this case,” indicating that the jurors should try to be more flexible in their deliberations. Later that day, the jury came back with a unanimous verdict finding the defendant guilty on both counts.
Appellate Court’s Ruling
The defendant appealed, and the higher court ruled that the trial court judge improperly exercised his discretion in expressing to the jurors that they needed to keep trying to deliberate. The judge’s actions were inappropriately coercive, and instead, the judge should have discharged the jury and declared a mistrial.
While a trial court judge’s job is to preside over a criminal trial and provide instructions to all parties and jurors, the judge’s job is not to exercise unnecessary influence over the outcome of a case. In situations like this, it can be beneficial to have an experienced New York criminal defense attorney that can recognize when something is awry. That way, your attorney can understand when to push back and how to get you the results you need, even in the face of unfair trial practices.
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