The word 'deliberating' in s 46(2) of the Juries Act 2000 (Vic) refers to the time allowed for deliberation, not to actual deliberation, and does not require inquiry into what happened in the jury room. Time spent by the jury in the jury room during a lunch break is not excluded from the calculation. A trial judge is not precluded from mentioning the possibility of a majority verdict before the six-hour period has expired, provided the judge is satisfied under s 46(3) that a reasonable period for deliberation has been allowed. The preferred practice, however, is to send the jury back to persevere without mentioning majority verdicts until after the six hours has expired.
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