Help, Help, Help!! In a layperson's terminology, what does the word mistrial actually mean?

Question

I just heard on the news, the Phil Spector trial ends in a mistrial.

What does that mean? Is he free to go, will he be retried, etc. etc.

Please clarify this for me, I'm sure a lot of other people will be enlightened as well.

Thank You Kindly.

Answer 1

A mistrial can result from a procedural error or as a result of a jury not reaching a verdict. Obviously you know, a mistrial resulted in the Specter case because the jury could not reach a verdict. A judge can also declare a mistrial for procedural reasons. For example, suppose a judge issues an order in the Simpson case that the prior trial issues are not to be mentioned. If a police officer takes the stand at the insistence of the state and says "He murdered his ex wife" you would see an instant motion for a mistrial from the defense. The theory behind that motion would be that the jury was improperly prejudiced by the statement.

The state can retry after a mistrial because the prosecution did not come to a conclusion. The theory being it is not a double prosecution but rather continuing to prosecute the same charge.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

It can also result from the jury not being able to reach a unanimous verdict. This just happened in the Phil Spector case. Again, the district attorney will need to decide if a new trial is worth the effort.

Answer 3

it's lay-mans btw lol, and in the Phil Spector case the jury could not agree on a verdict, the prosecution can retry him, if they believe they will be better able to convince a jury of guilt.

Answer 4

Something was wrong from a law standpoint. The District Attorney will refile and there will be a new trial. If they have enough evidence to support it.