Meaning & use
hung jury
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablelegal
A jury that cannot reach a verdict because the members disagree, so the trial ends without a decision.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a hung jury' or 'hung juries'. Often appears with 'declare' or 'result in'.
Patterns
- a hung jury
- declare a hung jury
- result in a hung jury
The judge declared a hung jury after the members failed to agree.
The case ended in a hung jury, so the defendant may face a new trial.
A hung jury does not mean the defendant is innocent; it just means no verdict was reached.
Word forms
| plural | hung juries |
|---|
Common combinations
- declare a hung jury
- The judge had to declare a hung jury when the panel remained split.
- result in a hung jury
- The trial resulted in a hung jury after three days of deliberation.
- hung jury trial
- A hung jury trial often leads to a retrial.
- avoid a hung jury
- The lawyers tried to avoid a hung jury by presenting clearer evidence.
Synonyms and how they differ
- deadlocked jury
- Similar meaning, but 'deadlocked jury' emphasizes the inability to move forward; 'hung jury' is the standard legal term.
Commonly confused: hung jury or grand jury?
hung jury vs grand jury
A grand jury decides whether there is enough evidence to charge someone, while a hung jury is a trial jury that cannot agree on a verdict.
Practice
The trial ended in a ______ because the jurors could not agree on a verdict.
Choose one answer.
'Hung jury' is the correct term for a jury that cannot reach a verdict. 'Grand jury' is a different legal body that decides whether to charge someone, not a trial jury that is stuck.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hung jury”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.