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Watching the Daniel Penny case in New York it seems the jury came back with a note saying they are deadlocked. Consequently the judge has issued an Allen charge to try to get a verdict.

A couple of questions:

  1. The Allen charge arose from a USSC decision about a federal case. So why does it apply in the completely different jurisdiction of New York's State criminal court? It doesn't seem to be a civil rights issue that would be incorporated to the states, more a matter of procedure.

  2. How often does an Allen charge actually get a verdict from the jury? I'm pretty sure were I on a jury and received such a charge I'd be unlikely to change my mind, since, by that time, I would have already taken my responsibility very seriously. Especially so were I a jury member on a homicide trial.

Fraser Orr
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Why state court?

It doesn’t apply to the states.

Or rather, Allen v. United States (1896) is binding precedent only in Federal courts and each state can allow or disallow similar instructions by their own statute or case law. Some states allow them, some don’t. Either way, each state will have its own precedential case that establishes that; that case will almost certainly cite Allen as persuasive precedent.

They’re just colloquially called “Allen charges” as a convenient label.

How often are the used and how often do they work?

No idea.

I’ve looked - which is to say I’ve Googled and checked Google scholar - and I can’t find any statistics. It could be a good thesis topic if you want to pursue a higher law degree.

Dale M
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