Apodaca v. Oregon (1972)

Apodaca v. Oregon (1972) was a Supreme Court case that addressed whether criminal trials in Oregon could continue with a jury verdict requiring only a majority (such as 10 out of 12 jurors) rather than a unanimous decision. The Court upheld Oregon's law, ruling that the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a fair trial does not require unanimity in jury verdicts. This decision permitted some states to use non-unanimous jury votes to convict, balancing the rights of defendants with different state legal practices, and establishing that unanimity is not constitutionally mandated in all criminal cases.