Hill: Supreme Court rules non-unanimous jury verdicts unconstitutional

[Ana]

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that defendants in criminal trials can only be convicted by a unanimous jury, striking down a scheme that has been rejected by every state except one.

The court said in a divided opinion that the Constitution requires agreement among all members of a jury in order to impose a guilty verdict.

The ruling overturns the 2016 conviction of a Louisiana man named Evangelisto Ramos. A jury by a 10-2 margin found him guilty of killing a woman in New Orleans. Two years after Ramos's conviction, Louisiana voters approved a constitutional amendment getting rid of non-unanimous jury verdicts.

The new ruling likely means that Ramos could get a new trial.

Supreme Court rules non-unanimous jury verdicts unconstitutional

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that defendants in criminal trials can only be convicted by a unanimous jury, striking down a scheme that has been rejected by every state except one.The cour…

thehill.com

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-5924_n6io.pdf