Allen V. United States (1896)

Allen V. United States (1896)

Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492 (1896), is a United States Supreme Court case that, amongst other things, approved the use of a jury instruction intended to prevent a hung jury by encouraging jurors in the minority to reconsider. The Court affirmed Allen's murder conviction, after having vacated his two prior convictions for the same crime.

Such an instruction became known as an Allen charge and is given when, after deliberation, a jury reports that it is deadlocked and unable to decide on a verdict. Because it is used to dislodge jurors from entrenched positions, the Allen charge is sometimes referred to as the "dynamite charge" or "hammer charge."

Allen's holding is based upon the Supreme Court's supervisory power over the federal courts. Thus, it is not binding on state courts. Approximately half of the U.S. states prohibit Allen charges on state law grounds.