Jury Poll

After a verdict is returned, but before the jury is discharged, the court shall on a party’s request, or may on its own, poll the jurors individually. If the poll reveals a lack of unanimity, the court may direct the jury to deliberate further or may declare a mistrial and discharge the jury. Comment Under Rule 24.5, a jury poll is mandatory on the request of either party. Its purpose is to determine with certainty that “each of the jurors approves of the verdict as returned; that no one has been coerced or induced to sign a verdict to which he does not fully assent.” Humphries v. District of Columbia, 174 U.S. 190, 194, 19 S. Ct. 637, 638-39, 43 L. Ed. 944 (1899). Failure to poll the jury 137 at the request of the defendant is reversible error. See McLarty v. State, 842 So. 2d 590 (Miss. Ct. App. 2003); State v. Taylor, 544 So. 2d 1387, 1389 (Miss. 1989). This Rule discourages post-trial efforts to challenge the verdict on allegations of coercion on the part of some of the jurors.