United States District Judge William Walls declared a mistrial in the Sen. Bob Menendez bribery and corruption trial on Thursday.
The court proceedings and jury deliberation lasted for more than 30 days.
“I find that you are unable to reach a verdict and that further deliberations would be futile. And there’s no alternative to declaring a mistrial,” Walls said to jurors while announcing his decision.
Deliberations had continued into Thursday, days after the jury informed Walls that they were deadlocked, again, and could not reach verdict.
While Walls requested that the jury continue with deliberations, Menendez’s attorney, Raymond Brown, argued on Monday that Walls should declare an immediate mistrial. Prosecutors argued that the jury needed more time to deliberate.
In light of the decision, here’s what you need to know about mistrials.
What is a mistrial?
A mistrial, according to the American Bar Association (ABA), is a trial that is not successfully completed — meaning that it’s “terminated and declared void before the jury returns a verdict or the judge renders his or her decision in a nonjury trial,” according to the ABA.
A mistrial is declared for a variety of reasons, such as the death of a juror or attorney, juror misconduct (if the jury considers evidence that wasn’t presented in the case, for example), a juror is discusses the case with the media, or a juror is found to be prejudiced, among other reasons, according to the ABA. The most common reason a mistrial is declared, however, is because the jury is deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict.
Either side — the prosecution or the defense — can make a motion to the judge requesting a mistrial. The judge then either grants or denies that motion. If the motion is denied, the trial continues.
What happens if the motion is granted?
If a mistrial is declared, one of three things typically happens, according to Houston Criminal Attorney Daniel Lazarine: the prosecutor dismisses the charges, a plea bargain or agreement is made, or another criminal trial is scheduled on the same charges.
Going through another trial has advantages and disadvantages for both sides, according to Lazarine. For instance, both sides now have knowledge of what the other will focus on during the trial and what their legal arguments will consist of. This sometimes “eliminates the element of surprise,” according to Lazarine. However, it does present an opportunity for both sides to make their arguments stronger.
Mistrials have specific advantages for defense attorneys. The state could choose not to retry the case, which means that charges against the defendant are dismissed. Secondly, “if the state did elect to retry that case, there would be a transcript of all of the state’s witnesses who testified before the mistrial was granted, and any variations in their testimony might be used against them during the retrial,” Lazarine writes.
What are some famous mistrials?
Bill Cosby
Actor and comedian Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial ended in a mistrial on June 17. The jury deliberated for more than 52 hours over six days. Prosecutors will retry Cosby, and the new trial is expected to begin in 2018.
Phil Spector
Record producer and musician Phil Spector was accused of murdering Lana Clarkson, an actress, in 2007. The first trial resulted in a mistrial after jurors deliberated for about 44 hours over 12 days. However, Spector was retried and found guilty of murder in the second degree in 2008.
Shannon Kepler
Tulsa, Okla. police officer Shannon Kepler was accused of killing his daughter’s black boyfriend in 2014 while he was off-duty. After three mistrials, Kepler was convicted of first-degree manslaughter during his fourth murder trial in October. He is slated to be sentenced later in November.
Bandidos biker gang
In 2015, the Bandidos biker gang encountered rival biker club, the Cossacks, at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Tex. A brawl and gunfight was sparked and nine bikers were left dead. Christopher “Jake” Carrizal, the president of the Bandidos’ Dallas chapter, testified in court that the Cossacks started the brawl. On Nov. 10, the judge in the case declared a mistrial after jurors deliberated for 14 hours. A retrial for Cossacks was not immediately scheduled.
Michael Slager
Walter Scott died in 2015 after a white police officer named Michael Slager shot him. A bystander captured the incident on video. Scott was unarmed. After the jury in the case could not reach a unanimous vote, the judge declared a mistrial. But in May, Slager pleaded guilty as a result of a plea agreement with prosecutors. As a result, the state dropped its murder charges against him.
