Jury Unanimity (CC 3500 or CC 3501): Child Molestation: Emphasis of What Must Be Found Vis a Vis Multiple Sex Crimes
May 8th, 2015

To convict a defendant of multiple sex crimes that are not distinguished: the jury must find 3 prerequisites “‘We see no constitutional impediment to allowing a jury, so instructed to find a defendant guilty of more than one indistinguishable act, providing. . .three minimum prerequisites. . .are satisfied.’ [Citation.] Those prerequisites include generic evidence describing “(1) the kind of acts committed, (2) the number of acts committed with sufficient certainty to support the alleged counts, and (3) the general time period in which the acts occurred.” (People v. Fernandez (2013) 216 Cal. App. 4th 540, quoting People v. Jones (1990) 51 Cal. 3d 294, 321.)


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