St. Cloud Lawyer Explains What Happens if Trial Ends With Hung Jury

(KNSI) – Jurors in the trial of former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter started the third day of deliberations after a question to the judge suggested they may not be able to reach an agreement. On Tuesday afternoon, the jury asked Judge Regina Chu how to proceed if they couldn’t reach a verdict. The judge told jurors to continue their work.

Mike Bryant with the Bradshaw and Bryant Law Firm in Waite Park is watching the case.

“That led me to believe that there’s some breakdown somehow. There’s some number, whether it’s one or 11, or some breakdown between the groups on a major issue.”

Bryant says if the jury can’t come to a decision, the case will end in a hung jury. The prosecution can then retry the case, offer Potter a plea deal, or drop the case. Bryant says the jury also asked if they could hold the gun Potter used to shoot 20-year-old Daunte Wright.

“Then their second question of the gun gave me a belief that it probably comes down to they want to hold this gun to see if either this is true or that is true. That’s going to be the deciding factor.”

Bryant says it’s not unusual for juries to take several days to decide a high-profile case.

Potter has been charged with two counts of manslaughter in Wright’s April 11 death that came after a traffic stop. Police attempted to arrest Wright after they learned he had a felony warrant for his arrest on a weapons charge. Wright slipped away from an officer trying to arrest him and jumped back into his car.

Potter has said she meant to use her Taser to stop Wright but mistakenly used her gun.

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