California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Knepper, G057907 (Cal. App. 2019):
"'Many reasons may explain apparently inconsistent verdicts: lenience, compromise, differing evidence as to different defendants, or, possibly, that two juries simply viewed similar evidence differently.'" (People v. Superior Court (Sparks) (2010) 48 Cal.4th 1, 13.) We do not know why the jury found it not to be true that defendant "possessed for sale 28.5 grams or more of methamphetamine or 57 grams or more of a substance containing methamphetamine" and, at the same time, finding defendant guilty of possession for sale of methamphetamine that weighed at least that much. But substantial evidence supports defendant's conviction on count one, and we do not question as to why the jury reached the results it did.
Regarding the jury's question No. 2, we decline to speculate on the jurors' reasoning or why the question was asked. Suffice it to say, substantial evidence supports the verdict. (People v. Lehman (2016) 247 Cal.App.4th 795, 804.)
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