There has been a spate of hung juries in recent ACT Supreme Court trials. Since September 18 four out of five trials have been deadlocked which has led to frustration for those charged given it will mean additional court costs and playing the waiting game should the DPP mount a retrial.
For the details here is the link [Canberra Times].
To possibly avoid this scenario becoming an ongoing problem in homicides or sexual assault offences where judge only trials are no longer an option i would suggest that we need to adopt a policy of majority verdicts.Perhaps something along the lines whereby there is a majority of 10 of the 12 jurors in agreeance then that would be a sufficient majority for an outcome in the trial.
Any thoughts?