Aranda

INTRODUCTION

In Stone v. Superior Court (1982) 31 Cal.3d 503 (Stone), the California Supreme

Court held that when a jury indicates that it has unanimously determined that the

defendant is not guilty of a greater offense but is deadlocked only on a lesser included

offense, the court must afford the jury the opportunity to return a partial verdict of

acquittal on the greater offense before the trial court may declare a mistrial. If the court

does not do so, the mistrial is deemed to be without legal necessity as to the greater

offense, and double jeopardy principles preclude retrying the defendant for that offense.

(Id. at p. 519.)

Not all states have a partial acquittal rule. In Blueford v. Arkansas (2012) 566

U.S. ___ [132 S.Ct. 2044] (Blueford), which was decided while this case was pending in

the trial court, the United States Supreme Court held that the Fifth Amendment’s double

jeopardy clause does not mandate such a procedure, and that, in a state which does not

have a partial acquittal rule, if the jury deadlocks on a lesser included offense without

formally returning a verdict of not guilty on the greater offense, the defendant may be

retried on both the…