When There Is a Mistrial What Happens?

In the event of a mistrial, the defendant is not convicted, but neither is the defendant acquitted. An acquittal results from a not guilty verdict and cannot be appealed by the prosecution, overturned by the judge, or retried. When there is a mistrial, however, the case may be retried.

Can a mistrial be declared after guilty verdict?

The Jury Cannot Reach a Unanimous Verdict

If the jury cannot reach an unanimous decision for a guilty verdict – and also do not find the defendant to be not guilty – then this will be a hung jury and the judge can declare a mistrial.

Why is a mistrial bad?

While mistrials often lead to new trials, charges could be dropped if the prosecutor does not wish to retry them. Cases tend to be dismissed by the judge instead of dropped by the prosecutor after mistrials involving some type of misconduct.