Does a trial court have to instruct the jury to agree unanimously whether defendant committed premeditated murder or first degree felony murder?

The trial court was not required to instruct the jury to agree unanimously whether defendant had committed a premeditated murder or a first degree felony murder. (People v. Friend, supra, 47 Cal.4th at p. 54, 97 Cal.Rptr.3d 1, 211 P.3d 520.)

Instructions informing the jury that the court could not accept a guilty verdict on second degree murder unless the jury first unanimously found defendant not guilty of first degree murder, and similarly could not accept a manslaughter verdict without an initial unanimous finding that he was not guilty of first or second degree murder, did not restrain the jury from full consideration of all the evidence and are not unconstitutional. (People v. Fields (1996) 13 Cal.4th 289, 309311, 52 Cal.Rptr.2d 282, 914 P.2d 832.)

[190 Cal.Rptr.3d 574]