Is it unconstitutional to allow the same jury that convicted him to decide whether he committed other criminal activity?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Johnsen, 10 Cal.5th 1116, 274 Cal.Rptr.3d 599, 480 P.3d 2 (Cal. 2021):

Johnsen asserts it is unconstitutional to allow the same jury that convicted him to decide whether he also committed other criminal activity. We have concluded otherwise. (See People v. Hawthorne (1992) 4 Cal.4th 43, 7677, 14 Cal.Rptr.2d 133, 841 P.2d 118.) "[D]ue process does not preclude the consideration of this type of evidence by a penalty jury [that] has found the defendant guilty of murder," and "the strong legislative preference for a unitary jury outweighs any supposed disadvantage to defendant in the single-jury process." ( People v. Balderas (1985) 41 Cal.3d 144, 204, 222 Cal.Rptr. 184, 711 P.2d 480.)

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