Mistrial
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Aschlafly (talk | contribs) at 03:49, November 17, 2021. It may differ significantly from current revision.
A mistrial is an invalid trial, caused by a fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again from the selection of the jury.
Violation of the Golden Rule
One cause of a mistrial is when an attorney makes an emotional appeal to jurors for them to put themselves in the shoes of someone, such as the plaintiff or an alleged victim of a crime. Known as an improper "Golden Rule Argument, it consists of a request of a jury to deliver a verdict that they would want to receive themselves.[1] Instead, jurors should be asked to view the facts objectively.