In almost every trial, a jury can go home during deliberation. Jurors arrive in the morning, work through the case in a private room, take breaks, and leave when the judge dismisses them for the evening, returning the next day to pick up where they left off. Being locked away until a verdict is reached is the rare exception, ordered only when a judge decides the circumstances of the trial demand it.
How a Deliberation Day Runs
Once both sides have rested and the judge has given final instructions, jurors are escorted to a private room to begin discussing the case. A typical jury day runs about eight hours, starting somewhere between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m., with breaks throughout.1United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. How Long is the Typical Jury Day and Will There Be Breaks If the jury has not reached a verdict by the end of the scheduled hours, the judge sends everyone home and deliberations resume the next morning.
How long the whole process takes varies enormously. Some juries finish in under an hour. Others stretch over weeks. A straightforward case with limited evidence may produce a verdict the same afternoon. A multi-defendant fraud trial or a capital murder case can require days or weeks of discussion before the jurors reach consensus.
Rules Jurors Follow When They Leave the Courthouse
Every dismissal comes with a firm set of instructions from the judge, and they exist for one reason: the verdict has to rest entirely on what was presented in the courtroom, not on anything a juror picks up at home, online, or in conversation. Judges repeat these instructions at every recess because the temptation to look something up or vent to a spouse is genuinely hard to resist over the course of a long trial.
The core rules come down to three prohibitions. Jurors cannot discuss the case with anyone outside the jury room, including spouses, parents, coworkers, or friends. Jurors cannot do their own research, whether that means looking up a legal term, searching a witness’s name, or visiting the scene of an incident. And jurors must avoid media coverage of the trial in print, on television, and online.
Social Media and Online Activity
Social media is where modern jurors are most likely to slip. Posting about the case, reacting to testimony online, or even liking a news article about the trial can cause serious problems. The risk is not only that a juror might reveal what happened in the deliberation room. Outside responses, comments, and articles can shape how that juror thinks about the evidence.
Consequences for Breaking the Rules
These instructions are not suggestions. Federal Judicial Center data shows that when judges discovered jurors using social media or the internet during a trial, the juror was cautioned but allowed to remain roughly 70% of the time, and removed from the jury about 30% of the time.2Federal Judicial Center. Jurors’ and Attorneys’ Use of Social Media During Voir Dire, Trials, and Post-Trial In more serious situations, a judge can hold a juror in contempt or declare a mistrial, forcing the case to start over with a new jury. Some federal judges have warned jurors directly that a violation could make them personally responsible for the costs of a retrial.
When a Jury Can’t Agree
Sometimes jurors go home night after night without moving closer to a verdict. When a jury reports that it is deadlocked, the judge does not immediately end the case. The judge will typically deliver what is known as an Allen charge, a supplemental instruction encouraging the jury to keep deliberating. The name comes from the 1896 Supreme Court decision in Allen v. United States, which approved the practice in federal court.3Justia US Supreme Court. Allen v United States, 164 US 492 (1896)
The instruction tells jurors they have a duty to try to reach unanimity, but that no juror should abandon an honest belief just to go along with the majority. In the Court’s words, each juror should “listen, with a disposition to be convinced, to each other’s arguments,” while a dissenting juror should consider whether their doubt is reasonable given that many equally thoughtful people disagree.3Justia US Supreme Court. Allen v United States, 164 US 492 (1896) Not every state allows the Allen charge. Some have banned it out of concern that it puts too much pressure on holdout jurors to give in.
If the jury remains deadlocked after further deliberation, the judge declares a mistrial. That does not mean the defendant walks free. A hung jury qualifies as “manifest necessity” under double jeopardy principles, so the prosecution can retry the case before a new jury. Prosecutors then weigh the strength of their case and the costs of a second trial before deciding whether to go forward.
The Exception: Sequestration
In rare cases, a judge decides that sending jurors home each night poses too great a risk to the fairness of the trial. The solution is sequestration. Jurors are housed together at a hotel, isolated from the public, and monitored by court officers or U.S. Marshals. The federal courts have described the process as keeping jurors at hotels whose locations are kept secret and transporting them to the courthouse from varying pickup locations in different vehicles.4United States Courts. How Courts Care for Jurors in High Profile Cases
Sequestered jurors live under tight restrictions. Access to television, newspapers, and the internet is cut off or screened to remove any mention of the case. Phone calls with family are generally allowed but may be supervised. Meals, lodging, and transportation are provided at the court’s expense. It is an uncomfortable arrangement, and judges know it, which is why sequestration is reserved for exceptional circumstances.
What Triggers a Sequestration Order
The most common trigger is intense media saturation. In a case dominating the news cycle, it becomes nearly impossible for a juror to avoid commentary, expert opinion, and information that was never presented as evidence. The other major trigger is a credible threat to juror safety or a risk of jury tampering. If someone might try to intimidate or contact jurors, isolation becomes a protective measure.
Judges also have the option of partial sequestration. In the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge trial, for example, the judge allowed jurors to sleep at home while keeping them isolated from the public during trial hours.4United States Courts. How Courts Care for Jurors in High Profile Cases The specifics are at the judge’s discretion.
How Long It Can Last
Sequestration lasts as long as deliberations do, and in a few notorious cases that has meant months. The O.J. Simpson jury was sequestered for 265 days in 1995, the longest in U.S. history, at a cost of nearly $2 million. The court absorbs all of the expense, which is one practical reason judges are reluctant to order full sequestration unless the case requires it.