Byrd v. Hopper

Nichols, Chief Justice.

Petitioner is presently confined under a five-year sentence imposed for motor vehicle theft. He did not appeal his conviction. His petition for habeas corpus relief complained solely of a portion of the convicting court’s charge to the jury that recent possession by petitioner of the goods taken "if not satisfactorily explained, raise[s] the presumption of guilt and it would authorize you to identify the defendant as the guilty party and to convict him of the crime as charged. The presumption of guilt, however, is one of evidence and not of law, and may be rebutted by…