Does the penalty phase jury have to agree unanimously that a particular aggravating circumstance exists?

California, United States of America

The following excerpt is from People v. Jackson, 1 Cal.5th 269, 205 Cal.Rptr.3d 386, 376 P.3d 528 (Cal. 2016):

Nothing in the federal Constitution requires the penalty phase jury to make written findings of the factors it finds in aggravation and mitigation; agree unanimously that a particular aggravating circumstance exists; find all aggravating factors proved beyond a reasonable doubt or by a preponderance of the evidence; find that aggravation outweighs mitigation beyond a reasonable doubt; or conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that death is the appropriate penalty. (People v. Williams (2013) 58 Cal.4th 197, 295, 165 Cal.Rptr.3d 717, 315 P.3d 1.)
Nor is the trial court constitutionally required to inform the jury that they must return a sentence of life without parole if they determine mitigation outweighs aggravation. (People v. McDowell (2012) 54 Cal.4th 395, 444, 143 Cal.Rptr.3d 215, 279 P.3d 547.)

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