Neither a Bismarck defense attorney nor the Burleigh County state's attorney were surprised that the jury for the Moe Gibbs trial came back hung.

But both were shocked that the jury was split down the middle.

"A six-six is unusual,"State's Attorney Richard Riha said.

Ralph Vinje, a defense attorney with Vinje Law Firm, agreed.

"Generally, you're only going to have one or two people that are stubborn that are going against the majority,"Vinje said.

Vinje also said that it would be difficult to find an impartial jury at this point, if prosecutors choose to go forward with a retrial.

"I guess they're going to have it someplace in North Dakota,"he said. "An impartial jury, it's not very likely."

Riha said he believes, however, that they would be able to find a jury.

As for a next step, both Vinje and Riha said interviewing jurors would be key.

"Usually, we talk to the jurors and find out what was holding them up, to get a feel of how the evidence played before a jury," Riha said, adding that prosecutors are going to be very conscientious about their work.

"I would certainly want to know the reasons why they hung up, what the problems were," he said. "I would certainly attempt to talk to them."

Vinje said jurors sometimes decide as a group not to agree to interviews with reporters or even attorneys.