Opinion ID: 877465
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: why the convictions must be reversed

Text: Those decisions holding a general unanimity instruction to be sufficient, fail to go beyond this general statement. They ignore the actual doubt that inheres in such a position. Further, they ignore the fact that it is a defect in the judicial system that has created the problem; it is not a problem created by the defendant. The defect can be charged to the State in failing to properly charge the defendant in separate counts, the defect can be charged to the trial court in failing to instruct the jury that its verdict must be unanimous as to any statutory theory or theories of criminal responsibility, and the defect can be charged to the trial court in failing to provide clear verdict forms. Because these decisions ignore these failures in the judicial system, and assume unanimity, analysis is confined solely to reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support each theory submitted to the jury. Obviously, if the theory of criminal responsibility is clear, and the verdict is clear, review can then center on the sufficiency of the evidence. If the appellate court can state that the jury applied a particular theory or theories in reaching its decision, the court can then confine itself to examining the evidence to determine its sufficiency. If it is sufficient, it can be affirmed; if not, the conviction must be reversed. But what does the appellate court do if the verdict fails to disclose the statutory theory on which the jury based its decision? An analysis of all theories to determine their sufficiency clearly proceeds on the assumption that whatever theory or theories the jury used, the jury was unanimous. Without this assumption of unanimity, the conviction would be reversed precisely because of the inability of the court to say that the jury verdict was unanimous. But an assumption of unanimity should never be made in a case such as the one involved here, unless the jury has been specifically instructed that it must be unanimous on any statutory theory or theories on which the State has based its prosecution. Failure to give this instruction is cause for reversal. In this event, appellate review would then be confined to determining whether all theories are supported by substantial evidence. If all were so supported, the judgment would be reversed and a new trial ordered under all theories. If not so supported, the case would be reversed with retrial only on those theories supported by substantial evidence. Where the appellate court rests on an assumption of unanimity, however, reversal is required only if all theories are not supported by substantial evidence. But the reason for reversal is not that the jury was less than unanimous on a theory or theory on which it based its conviction, for unanimity is assumed. Rather, the reason for reversal is that the jury may have been unanimous on a theory not supported by the evidence. Uncertainty as to the theory used is the reason for reversal. This rationale is much the same as that used to reverse a jury verdict where the jury is given inconsistent instructions on a important point of law. Reversal is based on a fundamental policy rule that if the appellate court cannot tell whether the jury followed the correct or incorrect instruction, and it would be unfair to affirm a verdict based on an erroneous instruction. See, for example, my dissent in State v. Price (1980), Mont., 622 P.2d 160, 37 St.Rep. 1926, where I thoroughly developed this theory of appellate review. The impelling reason for reversal in both situations is uncertainty as to what the jury did where it may have followed an evidentiary theory not supported by the evidence, or an erroneous instruction, and therefore uncertainty is created as to whether a correct verdict was reached. Where several alternative theories of criminal responsibility are presented to the jury, and where the verdict is ambiguous as to which theory or theories were applied, review of necessity rests on an implicit recognition that no one knows what theory the jury actually followed in reaching its verdict. If the jury had been instructed, however, that it must be unanimous on any theory applied to reach a decision, then an appellate court should assume that the jury was in fact unanimous. But where there is no such instruction, the appellate court should not make this assumption. The question boils down to one of policy  how much leeway can a jury be permitted in reaching its decision? If due consideration is given to the fact that a defendant's liberty or even his life is at stake, that policy should come down on the side of reversal. In a case such as this, a general unanimity instruction should not enshrine the verdict with unanimity. Either an assumption that the jury reached unanimous agreement, or an assumption that the jury did not reach unanimous agreement, without further analysis, fails to deal with the basic problem. An assumption either way still rests on an implicit recognition that the appellate court cannot tell how the jury actually decided the case. In addition to the actual uncertainty resulting from the ambiguous verdict, reversal should also be mandated because the State, not the defendant, caused the problem. The defendant should not suffer from a defect of the judicial system. In charging alternatively in one count rather than charging alternatively in separate counts (see section 46-11-404 MCA, supra) the State initiated the problem of ambiguity. The trial court then compounded the ambiguity by failing to instruct the jury that its verdict must be unanimous on one or more of the alternative theories of criminal responsibility as alleged by the State. And finally, the trial court added again to the problem by submitting to the jury the ambiguous verdict forms. Doubt surely inheres in this situation. This situation was created by the State (the prosecution and the court) and the benefit of this doubt should be given to the defendant. United States v. Andres, supra. In any criminal case, fundamental due process impels a reversal; in a death penalty case such as this fundamental due process mandates a reversal.