After nearly two months of evidence and a three-day address by Madam Justice Edwina Grima, nine jurors have left Courtroom 22 to decide whether the prosecution proved its case against Yorgen Fenech beyond reasonable doubt.From here on, they can only speak to the court through the registrar. If they need the law explained again, the judge has to give that explanation in open court, with the accused and the parties present.Here’s how it works.The number that matters is sixMalta does not require a unanimous jury. A valid verdict needs at least six of the nine jurors to agree. That means a conviction or an acquittal can come as 9-0, 8-1, 7-2 or 6-3. Anything less than six is not a verdict at all.So what happens if it’s 5-4?Nothing happens. They keep going. Judge Grima told the jurors this directly before they withdrew: if the vote is five to four, they go back and continue deliberating. A 5-4 split is not a hung jury, not an acquittal, and not a conviction. It’s simply an unfinished job.There is no clock on this. Maltese law does not give jurors a deadline, and there is no automatic exit after a set number of hours. Deliberations take as long as they take.Two charges means two verdictsFenech is facing two counts. Complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and participation in a criminal association. He has pleaded not guilty to both.The jurors vote separately on each charge. He can be found guilty on one and not guilty on the other, and the two votes don’t have to split the same way.The First Juror, the prim ġurat, writes the verdict and collects every juror’s vote before adding their own.Why the vote count still matters, even after a guilty verdictThis is the part most people miss. Complicity in wilful homicide carries life imprisonment. But Article 492 of the Criminal Code gives the judge a discretion when a guilty verdict on a fact carrying life is not unanimous. In that case, the court may hand down a fixed term of imprisonment of not less than 12 years instead of life.It is not automatic. A divided verdict does not reduce anything by itself. It only opens the door for the judge to consider a lesser punishment.So 9-0 guilty and 6-3 guilty are the same verdict in law, but they are not the same sentencing position.Individual jurors can also recommend mercy and give their reasons. The judge can take that into account, but is not bound by it.The jury decides guilt. The judge decides the sentence.Once the required majority is reached, the court is informed and everyone is called back in. The foreperson reads out the verdict and states how many votes were behind it.The public is told the numbers, not who voted which way.If Fenech is acquitted on all charges, the judge must order his release unless he is being held for some other legal reason.If he is convicted, sentencing is Judge Grima’s job, not the jury’s. The prosecution, the defence and the Caruana Galizia family’s lawyers can all make submissions on punishment before she hands down the sentence.And it may still not be overMalta does not work like the American courtroom dramas.Under Maltese law, both the accused and the Attorney General can appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal, against a conviction, against an acquittal, or against the sentence.An acquittal here is not automatically the final word, and a conviction can be challenged.•