Director of the Department of Corrections v. Jones

This is a habeas corpus proceeding filed by Joseph Jones who contends be was prejudiced in his 1980 criminal trial because his attorney failed to object to an instruction which had been ruled unconstitutional in Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510 (1979). Our decision is controlled by the recent case of Stokes v. Warden, 226 Va. 111, 306 S.E.2d 882 (1983).

In June of 1979, the Supreme Court in Sandstrom held the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was violated by an instruction providing “ ‘the law presumes that a person intends the ordinary consequences of his voluntary acts.’ ” 442…