Opinion ID: 2584374
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: issues

Text: A defendant has a right to a unanimous jury verdict. See K.S.A. 22-3421; K.S.A. 22-3423(1)(d); State v. Stevens, 285 Kan. 307, 313, 172 P.3d 570 (2007). When this right is challenged, an appellate court must determine first whether it is presented with a multiple acts case. This is a question of law over which the appellate court exercises unlimited review. Voyles, 284 Kan. at 244, 160 P.3d 794 (quoting State v. Kesselring, 279 Kan. 671, 682, 112 P.3d 175 [2005]). If the case is determined to be a multiple acts case, either the State must have informed the jury which act to rely upon in its deliberations or the district court must have instructed the jury to agree on the specific criminal act to convict. The failure to elect or instruct is error. Voyles, 284 Kan. at 244-45, 160 P.3d 794. When there is error, the final question is whether the error warrants reversal or was harmless. The test for harmlessness when a unanimity instruction was not requested or given is the clearly erroneous standard articulated in K.S.A. 22-3414(3). 284 Kan. at 252-53, 160 P.3d 794.