mistrial

noun

mis·​tri·​al ˈmis-ˌtrī(-ə)l 

: a trial that has no legal effect with regard to one or more of the charges brought against the defendant because of some serious error or prejudicial misconduct in the proceedings or a hung jury

Examples of mistrial in a Sentence

The judge declared a mistrial.

Recent Examples on the Web

But the trial judge threw Ellsberg’s case out, considering it a mistrial for wiretapping implications. —Conor Murray, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023

Having presided over the first two mistrials, the judge, now skeptical, asked Kanter to justify a third attempt. —H. Claire Brown, New York Times, 29 Nov. 2023

In the motion for a mistrial, the Trump attorneys complained that Engoron consulted too frequently with Greenfield. —Graham Kates, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2023

The expansion comes mere hours after Trump attorney Christopher Kise threatened to have the case declared a mistrial over note passing between the judge and his top legal aide—an eyebrow-raising threat that came after Eric Trump effectively admitted to lying in his deposition. —Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2023

The jurors reached a verdict after a mistrial was declared in November. —Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2023

But the proceedings ended in a mistrial after the jury could not reach agreement. —Dan Morse, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2023

The officers were later either acquitted or their trials were declared a mistrial. —Luke Barr, ABC News, 10 Nov. 2023

The New Jersey Democrat was charged with separate corruption allegations in 2015, but the charges were dropped in 2018 after a mistrial. —Jack Birle, Washington Examiner, 2 Oct. 2023

See More

Word History

First Known Use

1628, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

mistrial

noun

mis·​tri·​al ˈmis-ˌtrī(-ə)l 

: a trial that is cancelled because of an error in the proceedings

Legal Definition

mistrial

noun

mis·​tri·​al ˈmis-ˌtrī-əl 

: a trial that terminates without a verdict because of error, necessity, prejudicial misconduct, or a hung jury see also manifest necessity compare dismissal sense 2, trial de novo