WPIC 4.81 Deadlocked Jury

WPIC 4.70 (Probability of Verdict) is the oral instruction to be used when asking the jury whether or not it can arrive at a verdict. Any further instructions must be carefully reviewed to ensure compliance with CrR 6.15(f)(2). See Comment below.

CrR 6.15(f)(2) prohibits any instruction to a jury, after deliberations have begun, that suggests the need for agreement, the consequences of no agreement, or the length of time a jury will be required to deliberate. However, CrR 6.15(f)(2) does not completely prohibit the court from giving new instructions to a deadlocked jury. Under some circumstances, supplemental instructions are permitted. See State v. Watkins, 99 Wn.2d 166, 660 P.2d 1117 (1983).

For further discussion of issues relating to furnishing deliberating jurors with additional or corrected instructions of law, see the Comments to WPIC 4.68 (Additional Instructions of Law) and WPIC 4.68.01 (Changed Instruction of Law).

For further discussion of issues relating to apparently deadlocked jurors, see the Comment to WPIC 4.70 (Probability of Verdict). The law relating to deadlocked juries is covered in detail in Ferguson, 13 Washington Practice, Criminal Practice and Procedure, section 4611 (3d ed.).