Also known as: jury verdicts · verdict
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A formal decision by the jury resolving the factual questions presented at trial after deliberation. The decision must be returned to the judge in open court. In criminal cases the decision requires unanimity among all jurors.
Prosecutors charged Jamal Jefferson with bank robbery. After three days of deliberation the twelve jurors filed back into the courtroom and announced they had reached agreement. The foreperson stated guilty on all counts while each juror nodded assent. The judge accepted the decision and recorded it as the jury verdict.
A jury convicted Jose Jimenez of wire fraud after the government presented only circumstantial emails. On appeal the court held the evidence could not support a guilty finding. Because the reversal rested on legal insufficiency the Double Jeopardy Clause treated the outcome as an acquittal and prohibited any new trial.
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Jenkins Apparel sued Jackson Mutual for breach of an insurance policy. The court gave the jury a general verdict form plus specific questions on whether the loss occurred during the policy period and whether the insured gave timely notice. The jury answered both questions yes and returned a general verdict for the plaintiff.
After a jury found Javier Jimenez guilty of tax evasion his lawyer filed a motion for new trial citing instructional error. The filing occurred twelve days after the verdict. Because the motion raised grounds other than newly discovered evidence the fourteen-day deadline under the rules was satisfied.
Jones Petroleum sued a supplier for defective fuel. The jury returned a general verdict for the plaintiff and answered written questions confirming both breach and causation. Because the answers aligned with the general verdict the court entered judgment on the verdict and answers under Rule 58.
Federal prosecutors tried John Jones for securities fraud before a twelve-person jury. Midway through trial one juror suffered a medical emergency and the court excused her for good cause. The remaining eleven jurors continued deliberating and returned a unanimous guilty verdict that the court accepted.
The jury must return its verdict to the judge in open court. The verdict must also be unanimous. These requirements ensure public accountability and protect the defendant from non-unanimous or secret decisions.
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Reversal for legal insufficiency of the evidence is treated as an acquittal. The Double Jeopardy Clause therefore bars retrial on the same charges.
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When the general verdict and the jury's answers to written questions are consistent the court must enter judgment on them under Rule 58. Inconsistent answers may require further jury deliberation or other remedies.
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A motion for new trial based on any ground other than newly discovered evidence must be filed within fourteen days after the verdict. Newly discovered evidence motions have a three-year window.
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…of "actual intent" to harm or "gross negligence and recklessness," to make such an award, and he also refused to require that a verdict for respondent differentiate between compensatory and punitive damages. The judge rejected petitioners' contention that his rulings abridged the freedoms of speech and of the press that are…