[Download] "Francis v. Franklin" by Supreme Court of the United States # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Francis v. Franklin
- Author : Supreme Court of the United States
- Release Date : January 29, 1985
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 76 KB
Description
This case requires that we decide whether certain jury instructions in a criminal prosecution in which intent is an element of the crime charged and the only contested issue at trial satisfy the principles of Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510 (1979). Specifically, we must evaluate jury instructions stating that: (1) "[the] acts of a person of sound mind and discretion are presumed to be the product of the persons will, but the presumption may be rebutted" and (2) "[a] person of sound mind and discretion is presumed to intend the natural and probable consequences of his acts but the presumption may be rebutted." App. 8a-9a. The question is whether these instructions, when read in the context of the jury charge as a whole, violate the Fourteenth Amendments requirement that the State prove every element of a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt. See Sandstrom, supra; In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364 (1970).