Criminal Law - Evidence - Defendant in Criminal Trial Has Burden of Proof in Establishing Affirmative Defense
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Authors
Lochray, Paul J.
Issue Date
1978
Volume
11
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION|In Patterson v. New York, the United States Supreme Court confronted the issue of whether the defendant's fourteenth amendment right to due process was violated by having the burden of proving an affirmative defense in a criminal trial. In order to reduce a charge of second degree murder to manslaughter, a New York statute required a defendant to prove the affirmative defense of extreme emotional disturbance by a preponderance of the evidence. The defendant challenged the validity of his second degree murder conviction under this statute, contending that due process required the State to prove that the defendant was not suffering from the asserted emotional disturbance. As the basis for his argument, the defendant relied on In re Winship, where the United States Supreme Court declared that the due process clause "protects the accused against conviction except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged."...
Description
Citation
11 Creighton L. Rev. 1299 (1977-1978)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law