Page 3 - Alan Charge News Today

Usually what happens in these cases and this is no exception, a judge will read an instruction, oftentimes it has been described as a dynamite-like charge for a jury to go back, and try again. try harder, so to speak. and a lot of times in many jurisdictions it is called an alan charge where a judge beseeches a jury to just take a deep breath and work it out. dont let yourself be bullied into someone elses opinion, but give it another go round. and shockingly enough it often works. oftentimes yo...

An alternate brought in, in many jurisdictions. the alan charge, the dynamite, it is not a usual, you dont want to scold the jury, you dont want it said on appeal if there is a conviction, i mean, if there is a death sentence that someone was coerced into it. you dont want that. but the sad outcome will be if these 12 cant get it together, we have to strike a whole new jury for sentencie ining only, n even more horrible thought, a guilty plea to life. >> well, nancy, when you were a prosecute, y...

and weve got a lot of breaking news today. the jury in the john edwards federal corruption trial reaches a verdict on just one of the six counts against the one-time presidential hopeful. the defense asks for a mistrial, but the judge tells the jury theyve got to keep at it. lets go straight to cnns senior correspondent, joe johns. hes in greensboro, north carolina. joe, what is going on down there? >> reporter: well, you know, it gets stranger and stranger every minute. quite frankly,...