2 N.Y.3d 304 (2004)
A supplemental jury instruction given after a jury reports a deadlock is improper if it overemphasizes the importance of reaching a verdict without also reminding jurors not to surrender their conscientiously held beliefs.
Summary
Aponte was convicted of criminal sale of a controlled substance. After a relatively short trial, the jury deliberated for two days, sending two deadlock notes. The trial court gave a supplemental instruction emphasizing the need for a result and minimizing the possibility of a hung jury. The jury returned a guilty verdict five minutes later. The New York Court of Appeals held that the supplemental instruction was coercive and unbalanced because it stressed the need for a verdict without adequately reminding jurors not to abandon their sincerely held beliefs. The Court reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial, emphasizing the importance of balanced jury instructions.
Facts
Aponte was arrested as part of a buy-and-bust operation and charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance. At trial, the only disputed issue was the identity of Aponte as the seller. The trial lasted approximately three hours, with testimony from three witnesses. After summations, the judge charged the jury, and deliberations began. After approximately five hours of deliberation, the jury sent a note stating they were deadlocked.
Procedural History
The trial court instructed the jury to continue deliberating after the first deadlock note. After further deliberations and a second deadlock note stating the jury could not reach a unanimous decision, the trial court delivered a supplemental instruction. Defense counsel objected, arguing the instruction was an improper Allen charge. The trial court denied the objection. The jury returned a guilty verdict five minutes after the supplemental instruction. The defendant was convicted. The Appellate Division reversed, holding the supplemental jury instruction was unbalanced and coercive. The People appealed to the New York Court of Appeals.
Issue(s)
Whether a trial court’s supplemental instruction to a deadlocked jury was unbalanced and coercive, thereby depriving the defendant of a fair trial.
Holding
Yes, because the supplemental instruction overemphasized the jury’s obligation to reach a verdict without adequately reminding jurors not to surrender their conscientiously held beliefs.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals acknowledged that supplemental charges encouraging a verdict after a deadlock are permissible. However, the court must not coerce the jury into a particular verdict. The Court found the trial court’s instruction overemphasized the obligation to return a verdict by stating, “The point of this process is to get a result” and suggesting the jurors were failing in their duty. The instruction also failed to advise the jurors not to surrender conscientiously held beliefs. The Court noted, “Contrary to the court’s supplemental instruction, the object of the jury system is not to ‘get a result,’ it is ‘to secure unanimity by a comparison of views, and by arguments among the jurors themselves’.” The swiftness of the verdict after the instruction further suggested coercion. The Court emphasized that while an Allen charge need not explicitly state that the verdict must be each juror’s individual decision, the charge must contain some language balancing the instruction to reach a verdict with a reminder that jurors should not abandon their convictions. The Court stated criminal “jury instructions generally are not fertile ground for innovation during trial”.