State v. Macchia, 253 N.J. 232 (2023)

Rachel E. Simon argued before the New Jersey Supreme Court on behalf of amicus curiae ACDL-NJ that while jurors do not need to agree regarding the "brute facts" of a case, a unanimous verdict requires agreement regarding the elements of the offense. In other words, jurors should be required to agree as to which prong of self-defense they reject. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court disagreed, holding that when a single crime can be committed in various ways, jurors need not agree upon the mode of commission.