Sandstrom v. Montana
| Sandstrom v. Montana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued April 18, 1979 Decided June 18, 1979 | |
| Full case name | David Sandstrom v. Montana |
| Docket no. | 78-5384 |
| Citations | 442 U.S. 510 (more) 99 S. Ct. 2450; 61 L. Ed. 2d 39 |
| Holding | |
| The Fourteenth Amendment requires that a state must prove every element of a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt, and may not shift the burden of proof to the defendant by means of a presumption of intent. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Brennan, joined by unanimous |
| Concurrence | Rehnquist, joined by Burger |
Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510 (1979), is a United States Supreme Court case that reaffirmed the prosecution's burden of proof of the mental element of a crime by striking down a jury instruction that "the law presumes that a person intends the ordinary consequences of his voluntary acts".[1] In Francis v. Franklin, 471 U.S. 307 (1985), Justice Brennan wrote about "Sandstrom and the wellspring due process principal from which it is drawn" as follows:
Sandstrom v. Montana made clear that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a State from making use of jury instructions that have the effect of relieving the State of the burden of proof on the critical question of intent in a criminal prosecution.
References[edit]
- ^ Criminal Law Cases and Materials, Seventh Edition, 2012; John Kaplan, Robert Weisberg, Guyora Binder
External links[edit]
- Text of Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510 (1979) is available from: Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)
 | This article related to the Supreme Court of the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |