Legal Definitions - partial verdict

A partial verdict is when a jury reaches a decision on some of the charges or defendants in a trial, but not all of them. This can happen when the jury is unable to agree on all of the charges or defendants.

In the United States federal system, partial verdicts are allowed by Rule 31(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Many state jurisdictions also allow partial verdicts, such as New York and California.

For example, in a trial with three defendants and five charges, the jury may reach a partial verdict on two of the charges for one of the defendants, but not on the other charges or defendants. This means that the trial will continue for the remaining charges and defendants.

If a defendant is not found guilty on all charges, they may still be retried for any charges that the jury was unable to agree upon.