People v. Wright

The question presented is whether jury instructions, "unless the testimony satisfies you of something else * * * [t]he law presumes that every man or woman intends the natural, the probable, and the legitimate consequences of his or her own willful and voluntary acts”, is reversible error.

We conclude that the instructions may have been interpreted by the jury as a burden-shifting presumption and are therefore unconstitutional. US Const, Am XIV; Const 1963, art 1, § 17. Upon careful examination of the entire record, however, we find that as to defendant Wright, the erroneous instructions were…