What is the test for unanimous verdict in a criminal case?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Kozee-Stoltz, D069073 (Cal. App. 2016):
A defendant's constitutional right to a unanimous jury verdict requires that when the evidence shows more than one unlawful act that could support a single charged offense, the prosecution must either elect which act it is relying upon, or the trial court must instruct the jurors sua sponte that they must unanimously agree which act constituted the crime. (People v. Jennings (2010) 50 Cal.4th 616, 679.) A unanimity instruction is not required, however " 'when the acts are so closely connected as to form part of one transaction.' " (Ibid.) " 'We review de novo a claim that the trial court failed
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