State of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent v. John Stanley Czachor, Also Referred to as John S. Czachor…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that the traditional Allen charge is impermissibly coercive in criminal trials and that its repeated use, as in this case, constitutes plain error requiring reversal of the convictions and a remand for a new trial; the Court also announced that the rule prohibiting the Allen charge applies with limited retroactive effect. Justice Pashman, in a concurring opinion, agreed with the result but questioned whether the retroactivity should be limited rather than complete.