Dennis Martin Beyer, Jr. v. Texas
Securities Immigration
Does the constitutional requirement of jury unanimity require a jury to be unanimous as to specific acts of sexual abuse in order to convict a defendant of continuous sexual abuse?
QUESTION PRESENTED This Court recently recognized that the term "trial by an impartial jury," contained within the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, requires jury unanimity. The Court further recognized that this requirement applies to state and federal criminal trials. Petitioner was convicted of continuous sexual abuse by a jury : that was not required to agree unanimously on which two or more specific acts of sexual abuse were committed by Petitioner or the exact date when those acts were committed. To date, the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas has not written on the constitutionality of the statute. This Court has not directly spoken on the constitutionality : of continuous sexual abuse statutes that do not require a jury to unanimously agree on the particular acts of wrongdoing committed by a defendant. This case, therefore, presents the following question: Does the constitutional requirement of jury unanimity require a jury to be unanimous as to specific acts of sexual abuse in order to convict a defendant of continuous sexual abuse? BEYER V. TEXAS i .