Opinion ID: 1407600
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether jury unanimity is required on the elements of kidnapping and rape.

Text: Green was charged with aggravated murder in the first degree, a specific statutory crime provided in Initiative 316, § 1. Insofar as important here, unchallenged instruction No. 5 informed the jury that to convict one of aggravated murder in the first degree the jury must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that: defendant caused the death of Kelly Ann Emminger in the course of or in furtherance of rape in the first degree or kidnapping in the first degree. (Italics ours.) The jury returned a unanimous general verdict finding Green guilty of the crime of aggravated murder in the first degree ... The verdict form did not provide for a separate jury determination on either of the two critical elements underlying the charge of aggravated first degree murder ( i.e., rape or kidnapping). We agree with Green's contention that absent a separate unanimous verdict on each of the two critical elements of aggravated murder in the first degree, it is impossible to determine whether the jury found unanimously that he committed either rape or kidnapping or both. In Green I, we mistakenly held it was not error to have instructed the jury in the alternative, requiring no unanimity as to the rape or kidnapping elements, citing State v. Arndt, 87 Wn.2d 374, 553 P.2d 1328 (1976). We stated: The statute involved in this case clearly describes a single offense. It is, however, one which can be committed in one or more ways, neither of which is repugnant to the other. This being so, the jury verdict was required to be unanimous as to the guilt of appellant for aggravated murder, so long as substantial evidence was presented to support each of the alternative circumstances or methods of committing it. State v. Green, supra at 442. Our reliance on Arndt was largely dependent upon our conclusion that both the rape and kidnapping elements were supported by substantial evidence, a position we now reject insofar as the kidnapping issue is concerned. Our rejection of kidnapping leaves only rape as the remaining element. It is not possible to know whether the jury deemed that element established in the absence of some indication of jury unanimity on that critical issue. Clearly, Arndt is inapposite. [7, 8] We are also precluded from relying on Arndt for a more fundamental reason. In Arndt, we considered a statute which provided that a person could be convicted of grand larceny if he or she committed welfare fraud by any one of several overlapping and often indistinguishable methods. State v. Arndt, supra at 375. The methods were closely related, connected acts which constitute[d] the single offense of fraudulently obtaining public assistance ... State v. Arndt, supra at 382. In the instant case, however, the alternative ways of committing aggravated murder in the first degree are themselves separate and distinct criminal offenses. In order to convict a defendant of either kidnapping or rape, the State must prove every statutory element of that crime beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury. Where, as here, the commission of a specific underlying crime is necessary to sustain a conviction for a more serious statutory criminal offense, jury unanimity as to the underlying crime is imperative. In the instant case, the jury instructions and verdict form did not require the jury to unanimously find appellant committed or attempted to commit either first degree kidnapping or rape or both. As instructed, it was possible for the jury to have convicted Green with six jurors resting their belief of guilt upon kidnapping and the other six resting their belief upon rape. Thus, it is impossible to know whether the jury unanimously decided that the element of rape had been established beyond a reasonable doubt. It should also be observed that our reliance on Arndt was largely dependent upon our conclusion that both rape and kidnapping were supported by substantial evidence and thus were supportive of the combined verdict. As noted previously, in light of Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 61 L.Ed.2d 560, 99 S.Ct. 2781 (1979) and Leonard v. California, 443 U.S. 914, 61 L.Ed.2d 878, 99 S.Ct. 3105 (1979) we applied an incorrect standard for the review of both elements. This severely undercuts any reliance upon Arndt. Having determined there is not sufficient evidence to support the kidnapping element, the cause must be remanded for new trial on the charge of aggravated murder in the first degree based on the element of first degree rape or attempted first degree rape.