A hung jury—also called a deadlocked jury—occurs when jurors cannot reach the required unanimous verdict (or, in some jurisdictions, the required supermajority) after extended deliberation. When this happens, the judge usually declares a mistrial, meaning the trial ends without a conviction or acquittal.
Importantly, a hung jury does not mean the defendant is innocent. Legally, it simply means the jury was unable to agree on an answer. Because double-jeopardy protections generally do not apply to genuine deadlocks, prosecutors can usually choose to retry the case with a new jury.
