Juror Unanimity/Duplicity: Receiving Stolen Property
May 1st, 2014

 

People v. Mitchell (2008) 164 Cal. App. 4th 442, affirmed a defendant’s conviction of multiple counts of receiving stolen property where the trial court had used CC 1750. The defendant complained on appeal that the trial court had incorrectly rejected a proposed defense instruction on unanimity and instead added a unanimity instruction which could have led the jurors to convict her of multiple counts even if the jury was unanimous with respect to only one of the stolen items she possessed. The instruction added by the court read, “You may not find the defendant guilty unless you all agree that the People have proved the defendant received, concealed or withheld from its owner at least one item of property that had been stolen and you all agree on which item of property had been received, concealed or withheld.” (Id. at 464.)


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