STATE OF LOUISIANA v. DEMARIOUS HICKS (2024)

GRIFFIN, J., dissents and assigns reasons.

I respectfully dissent and would affirm the court of appeal's decision to order a new trial. More than one year after the United States Supreme Court declared non-unanimous juries unconstitutional in a highly publicized opinion, Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U.S. __, 140 S. Ct. 1390 (2020); the trial court in this matter instructed the jury that only ten votes were required to reach a verdict. Jury unanimity is a bedrock principle of our federal and state constitutions. Id., La. Const. art. I § 17. It is therefore imperative to zealously guard against errors of this magnitude – inadvertent or otherwise.