Lowenfield v. Phelps
United States Supreme Court
484 U.S. 231 (1988)
In a Louisiana capital case where a hung jury on sentencing would result in a court-imposed life sentence, the judge polled jurors in writing on whether further deliberation would help reach a verdict, finding four of twelve doubtful; after denying a mistrial motion and further deliberation, a second poll found only one juror doubtful, and the judge gave a supplemental instruction urging jurors to reexamine their views without changing them solely to reach unanimity. Within 30 minutes, the jury unanimously sentenced Lowenfield to death on all three counts; after unsuccessful state appeals, Lowenfield's federal habeas petition was denied by the district court and court of appeals, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether the combination of a trial judge's polling of the jury to assess how many jurors believe that further deliberation will allow them to arrive at a unanimous verdict and a supplemental instruction urging jurors to reexamine their opinions amounts to jury coercion in violation of a criminal defendant's due process rights.