Is a jury's failure to give sua sponte unanimity a reversible error?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Velez, A146649 (Cal. App. 2017):
Defendant contends the trial court's failure to give a sua sponte unanimity instruction is reversible error. He argues because there were three different caches of ammunition and he presented two different defenses, not all jurors may have agreed on which act of possession constituted the crime, in violation of his due process rights. We review defendant's claim of instructional error de novo. (People v. Guiuan (1998) 18 Cal.4th 558, 569.)
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