SAMANTHA G. CRONE
A jury “hangs” or results in impasse or deadlock when the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict. This results in the judge declaring a mistrial, where the double jeopardy bar is lifted in criminal trials, and the defendant may be retried. Oftentimes, jury deadlock results from a majority voting block who cannot sway a lone dissenter, also known as the “holdout juror.” When faced with the potential of deadlock, judges across the country routinely administer an impasse charge, commonly known as a “Dynamite Charge,” for its ability to blast a jury out of deadlock and into a unanimous verdict.
With the United States Supreme Court silent on the charge in recent years, some jurisdictions have abandoned the charge altogether or reformed the language of the charge administered to omit coercive language of “minority” and “majority” or “dissenting” jurors. Connecticut’s “Chip Smith” Charge has been consistently upheld by the Connecticut Supreme Court and is considered settled jurisprudence. Despite many criminal defendants arguing to end the practice of administering the charge, the court has declined to do so. Though the state’s courts have, in recent
years, altered the language of the model charge to include “balancing principles” to counteract the language targeting “dissenting” jurors, judicial discretion looms large in this area, and there are few checks on a trial judge’s ability to tell dissenting jurors to reconsider their view. Because the demise of Chip Smith is highly unlikely, this Comment argues instead that Connecticut should take a more middle ground approach and constrain judicial discretion in this area by limiting the number of times the charge may be read to a jury, eliminating the pressure placed on dissent,
and establishing a higher degree of judicial scrutiny when a trial judge strays from approved language. These changes will help protect a criminal defendant’s due process right to an uncoerced jury verdict.