Hung Jury: The Worst of Both Worlds

The jury is currently considering its verdict in the trial of two brothers accused of assaulting police officers at Manchester Airport on 23rd July 2024.

The jury, which now numbers only eleven, began its deliberations on the morning of Tuesday, 29th July 2025. Despite HHJ Neil Flewitt indicating he would now accept 10-1 majority verdicts in relation to each count, the jury was unable to reach its verdicts by the end of Tuesday.

So what happens if the jury simply cannot decide? Such an outcome is called a hung jury and it really is the worst of all worlds. The judge will be seeking to avoid a hung jury, which is why he will give a reasonable amount of time - possibly another couple of days - before deciding verdicts cannot be reached.

From the defendants' point of view a hung jury means they have neither been convicted nor acquitted of the allegations against them, so they are left dangling in an uncomfortable state of uncertainty.

From the Crown's point of view it would need to take stock of the situation and reevaluate the strength of its case. As jury deliberations are strictly confidential, the Crown would have no way of knowing which aspects of its case resonated most with the jury and which were rejected.

Prosecution only ever takes place if both the evidential and public interest tests are met. By definition this means the Crown must have considered conviction was more likely than not, so it would need to do a bit of soul searching. Was it a case that the Crown's case simply wasn't as strong as it thought it was? Or was it the case that the defence case was more persuasive than expected?

If, having taken time to reflect, the Crown decides its case was evidentially solid and in the public interest then it might decide to have a second attempt. The allegations relating to the police officers - ABH and assault on an emergency worker - are indictable, so could be considered afresh in a new trial. The assault by beating allegation in relation to Mr Ismaeil is summary, so would fall by the wayside.

Crown Court trials are a very expensive and labour intensive business, so the Crown would only seek a retrial if it thought it had its ducks in a row.