<P> When the jury are called to deliver a verdict after majority directions have been given, a careful protocol of questions is followed: only in the event of a guilty verdict is it then asked whether or not all jurors were agreed on that verdict, to prevent any acquittal from being tainted by it being disclosed that any jurors dissented . The protocol is followed separately for each charge . </P> <P> It is not possible to have a hung jury in Scotland in criminal cases . Juries consist of 15, and verdicts are decided by simple majority (8) of the initial membership . If jurors drop out because of illness or another reason, the trial can continue with a minimum of 12 jurors, but the support of 8 jurors is still needed for a guilty verdict; anything less is treated as an acquittal . </P> <P> In civil cases there is a jury of 12, with a minimum of 10 needed to continue the trial . It is possible to have a hung jury if there is a tied vote after three hours' deliberation . </P> <P> In the United States, the result is a mistrial, and the case may be retried (United States v. Perez, 1824). Some jurisdictions permit the court to give the jury a so - called Allen charge, inviting the dissenting jurors to re-examine their opinions, as a last - ditch effort to prevent the jury from hanging . The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure state, "The verdict must be unanimous...If there are multiple defendants, the jury may return a verdict at any time during its deliberations as to any defendant about whom it has agreed...If the jury cannot agree on all counts as to any defendant, the jury may return a verdict on those counts on which it has agreed...If the jury cannot agree on a verdict on one or more counts, the court may declare a mistrial on those counts . A hung jury does not imply either the defendant's guilt or innocence . The government may retry any defendant on any count on which the jury could not agree ." </P>

In order to convict the defendant in a criminal trial the jury must come to a unanimous decision