Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/18-5924_n6io.pdf
Page Number: 81

20 

RAMOS v. LOUISIANA 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

they were convicted by a less-than-unanimous verdict and 
preserved the issue in the trial court.  And at least in Ore-
gon, even if no objection was voiced at trial, defendants may 
be able to challenge their convictions based on plain error.
See Ore. Rule App. Proc. 5.45(1), and n. 1 (2019); State v. 
Serrano,  355  Ore.  172,  179,  324  P.  3d  1274,  1280  (2014). 
Oregon  asserts  that  more  than  a  thousand  defendants 
whose cases are still on direct appeal may be able to chal-
lenge  their  convictions  if  Apodaca  is  overruled.  Brief  for 
State of Oregon as Amicus Curiae 12–13.30  The State also 
reports that “[d]efendants are arguing that an instruction 
allowing  for  non-unanimous  verdicts  is  a  structural  error 
that requires reversal for all convictions, even for those for 
which  the  jury  was  not  polled  or those  for  which  the  jury
was unanimous.”  Id., at 14. 

Unimpressed by these potential consequences, the major-
ity notes that we “vacated and remanded nearly 800 deci-
sions”  for  resentencing  after  United  States  v.  Booker,  543 
U. S. 220 (2005), held that the Federal Sentencing Guide-
lines  are  not  mandatory.    Ante,  at  23.  But  the  burden  of 
resentencing cannot be compared with the burden of retry-
ing cases.  And while resentencing was possible in all the 
cases affected by Booker, there is no guarantee that all the
cases  affected  by  today’s  ruling  can  be  retried.    In  some 
cases, key witnesses may not be available, and it remains
to be seen whether the criminal justice systems of Oregon 
and Louisiana have the resources to handle the volume of 
cases in which convictions will be reversed. 

These  cases  on  direct  review  are  only  the  beginning.
Prisoners whose direct appeals have ended will argue that
today’s decision allows them to challenge their convictions
on collateral review, and if those claims succeed, the courts 
—————— 

30 The  majority  arrives  at  a  different  figure  based  on  the  number  of 
felony jury trials in Oregon in 2018, see ante, at 22–23, and n. 68, but it 
does not take 2019 into account.  And since we do not know how many
cases remain on direct appeal, such calculations are unreliable.