Yeah I'm with you on that. Why wouldn't defense be happy that instead of a mistrial on count 1 and the pros being allowed to retry DP on that charge, there's now no chance of it? Pros dismissed the charge and that' s that. MooI'm not seeing anything wrong with what the court has decided here. The jury deliberated on the higher charge, but after several days were still hung. That charge gets thrown out because by this point there's not going to be a unanimous verdict on it. The jury now considers the lesser charge, as one would logically expect.
If judge had called mistrial Friday, DP could be retried on count 1. As it currently stands, jury will deliberate the lesser negligence charge on Monday I believe. If hung, then a retrial would only apply to the lesser charge. Seems like a good deal for DP to me.
Moo If the jury had not been hung on count one but decided not guilty then they would have moved on to deliberate the lesser charge just as they will do on Monday.
Anyway, that's the way I understand the situ.
If he's found guilty of criminal negligence I doubt he'll serve much of a sentence. But he would be forced into some accountability under the law. Moo