State v. Carr

The Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial requires a unanimous jury verdict to convict a defendant for a serious offense. Ramos v. Louisiana, ___ US ___ (2020).

Defendant appealed a judgment of conviction on 22 criminal offenses. Defendant assigned error to the trial court’s nonunanimous verdict instructions, the acceptance of a nonunanimous verdict on several counts, and plain error regarding his conviction for unlawful delivery of methamphetamine and heroin. He argued that the trial court erred in giving a nonunanimous jury instruction and in receiving nonunanimous guilty verdicts on Counts where the jury did not unanimously agree. The State conceded that the trial court erred in instructing the jury that it could return nonunanimous verdicts and in accepting the nonunanimous jury verdicts. The Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial requires a unanimous jury verdict to convict a defendant for a serious offense. Ramos v. Louisiana, ___ US ___ (2020). Because the jury returned a nonunanimous verdict on several Counts, the Court held that these convictions must be reversed. Although, the jury voted unanimously on Counts 6 and 13, the jurors were nonunanimous as to whether Defendant personally committed the offenses or aided and abetted the commission of the offenses. Therefore, those convictions also required reversal. Convictions on Counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 13, and verdict on firearm-enhancement element of Count 5 reversed and remanded, otherwise affirmed.