Law Commons^™

Deadlocked Juries-The "Allen Charge" Is Defuse

University of Richmond Law Review

A deadlocked jury remains an ever-present problem to a judge whose docket is filled with cases to be litigated. Throughout history, crude methods of coercion have been -employed by judges to pry a verdict from a deadlocked jury. While such methods have long since been abandoned, a more subtle, though equally effective, device known as the "Allen charge" is still utilized today to bring about the same result.