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Ramos v. State10/19/2001
ime in the future will be deciding the same issues."
It is within the trial court's discretion to determine whether and when to give an Allen charge. It is also within the trial court's discretion to determine whether a jury is "hopelessly deadlocked," thus necessitating a mistrial. The decisive factor is not the length of the deliberation, but the inability of the jury to agree on a verdict.
In the present case, the jury had already come back with two questions and had some of the testimony replayed for them. Even after hearing the testimony again, they still could not reach a verdict. Furthermore, when questioned by the trial judge after the Allen charge had been given, the jury foreperson again indicated that further deliberations would be fruitless since the jury was in the same posture they were in before the Allen charge. This was not a lengthy case, nor were the issues complex. The jury merely needed to determine whether Ramos' driving ability was impaired by the alcohol he had consumed. The jury deliberated for approximately three hours, and then indicated further deliberations would be fruitless. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in declaring a mistrial.
As for Ramos' challenge regarding the language used by the trial judge in the Allen charge, virtually identical language has been affirmed by this Court. Considering the facts of the case and the charge in its entirety, we find that the language of the charge was not coercive and that it did not place undue pressure on the members of the jury to abandon their convictions. Consequently, this enumeration is without merit.
Judgment affirmed.
Ruffin and Ellington, JJ., concur.
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