Does a jury have to unanimously agree on whether a defendant can be convicted of first degree murder by deliberation and premeditation or by poison?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Rodriguez, B290950 (Cal. App. 2020):

To support his contention, Rodriguez relies on People v. Dellinger (1984) 163 Cal.App.3d 284, which involved the defendant's killing of his two-year-old stepdaughter. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. Ingestion of cocaine was a contributing cause. The trial court instructed that the jury could find the defendant guilty of first degree murder by deliberation and premeditation or by poison. However, it did not instruct that the jurors had to unanimously agree on which act constituted murder. The reviewing court stated that the defendant was entitled to a unanimity instruction because there were multiple acts which could constitute the charged offense. (Id. at p. 301.)

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