State v. Horner

Reversal of unanimous verdicts after a jury instruction allowing nonunanimous verdicts is not required. State v. Ciraulo, 367 Or 350, 353, 478 P3d 502 (2020). In light of Ramos, accepting “nonunanimous guilty verdicts for a nonpetty offense constitutes plain error.” State v. Ulery, 366 Or 500, 464 P3d 1123 (2020).

Defendant appealed convictions for 26 crimes.  Defendant assigned error to the trial court’s instructions to the jury that it could return nonunanimous verdicts.  On appeal, Defendant first argued this constituted a structural error and was not a harmless error, “even with respect to the unanimous verdicts.”  Secondly, Defendant asserted that the four counts upon which he was convicted by nonunanimous verdicts were plainly erroneous under Ramos v. Louisiana.  In response, the State disagreed with Defendant’s first argument but conceded that the nonunanimous verdicts were plain error.  Reversal of unanimous verdicts after a jury instruction allowing nonunanimous verdicts is not required.  State v. Ciraulo, 367 Or 350, 353, 478 P3d 502 (2020).  In light of Ramos, accepting “nonunanimous guilty verdicts for a nonpetty offense constitutes plain error.”  State v. Ulery, 366 Or 500, 464 P3d 1123 (2020).  The Court held that reversal of the 22 unanimous verdicts was not required but accepting the four nonunanimous verdicts was plain error on the part of the trial court.  Convictions for the four nonunanimous verdicts reversed and remanded; otherwise affirmed.