“Dynamite Charge”

In a majority of U.S. courts, particularly criminal courts, jury verdicts are required to be unanimous. Occasionally, however, juries are unable to reach a consensus. In such instances, judges will sometimes prompt juries to reach a decision by issuing an instruction that is often referred to as the “dynamite charge.” The dynamite charge stresses the importance of reaching a unanimous verdict and puts particular pressure on jurors who hold the minority opinion to reconsider their position. Researchers have begun to explore the effects of this controversial instruction.

During jury deliberations, jurors are expected to engage in a process of social influence. Ideally, juries are supposed to come to a unanimous decision by engaging in reasoned discussion designed to convince one another that a particular decision is the correct one. By the end of the deliberations, if a unanimous verdict is reached, each juror should privately believe that the jury verdict is in fact the correct verdict. This type of influence, in which a person adopts a position because he or she has been convinced that it is truly the correct position, has been termed informational social influence. Another type of influence, normative social influence, may also play a role in jury decision making. Normative social influence occurs when a juror outwardly agrees with the jury verdict (i.e., he or she goes along with the majority's position) but privately disagrees with the decision. The juror only acquiesces due to perceived or real pressure to go along with the group decision. This, ideally, should not occur during jury deliberation.

If a jury deadlocks (i.e., members are unable to reach a consensus), the jury is considered to be [Page 246]“hung.” A hung jury results in a mistrial, and a retrial may be held. Most courts view a hung jury as an outcome to be avoided because the time and resources devoted to the case do not lead to a verdict. If a jury indicates to the judge that it is unable to reach a unanimous verdict, in an effort to avoid a mistrial, the judge may order continued deliberation after issuing a supplemental instruction known as the dynamite charge. The U.S. Supreme Court first sanctioned the use of the dynamite charge (also known as the Allen charge) in 1896 in Allen v. United States. The exact wording of the dynamite charge can vary, but in its typical form, it reminds the jurors of their duty to reach a unanimous decision, and it suggests to jurors holding the minority position that they reconsider their position in light of the majority's opinion.

Proponents of the dynamite charge point out that it appears to be an effective means of encouraging verdicts. There are numerous case examples in which the dynamite charge seemed to “blast” deadlocked juries into returning unanimous verdicts soon after the charge was delivered (earning it its nickname). On the other hand, critics of the dynamite charge argue that it unfairly pressures minority jurors into changing their votes by suggesting that it is primarily their responsibility, and not the duty of majority jurors, to reconsider their position. Critics worry that the charge encourages minority jurors to acquiesce to the majority because of normative social influence (i.e., conforming due to social pressure) rather than informational social influence (i.e., a true change in opinion). In addition, there is concern that the charge incorrectly suggests to jurors that they must reach a verdict and that the jury is not permitted to hang. As a result of these concerns, some courts have ruled against the use of the dynamite charge, while others have attempted to create modified versions of it. Notably, the American Bar Association (ABA) developed guidelines for an alternate version of the dynamite charge, which reminds jurors of their duty to deliberate but does not single out minority jurors; in fact, the ABA recommends that the instruction include an admonition that specifically instructs jurors not to simply acquiesce to pressure from other jurors.

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