SC20442 - State v. Mekoshvili (“The question presented by this appeal is whether jurors,
in order to reject a criminal defendant’s claim of self-defense, must
unanimously agree as to which component or factor of that defense the state has
disproven beyond a reasonable doubt. The Appellate Court, which affirmed the
murder conviction of the defendant, Shota Mekoshvili, answered that question in
the negative. State v. Mekoshvili, 195 Conn. App. 154, 164, 170, 223
A.3d 834 (2020). The Appellate Court read this court’s precedents in State
v. Bailey, 209 Conn. 322, 551 A.2d 1206 (1988), and State v. Diggs,
219 Conn. 295, 592 A.2d 949 (1991), to mean that, although a jury must reject a
self-defense claim unanimously before it may find a defendant guilty, there is
generally no requirement that jurors agree on which specific factor of
Connecticut’s four factor test for self-defense the state has disproven. See State
v. Mekoshvili, supra, 167–70. We agree and, accordingly, affirm the
judgment of the Appellate Court.”)