State v. Anderson

Defendant appeals his conviction following a jury trial for murder. The issue presented is whether the court’s instruction based upon ORS 41.360 1 concerning the presumption of unlawful intent arising from an unlawful act constituted an unconstitutional shifting of the burden of proof on the element of intent from the state to the defendant in violation of the principles of Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 US 684, 95 S Ct 1881, 44 L Ed 2d 508 (1975) and In Re Winship, 397 US 358, 90 S Ct 1068, 25 L Ed 2d 368 (1970). 2 We conclude that it did.

1. In In Re Winship, supra, the United States Supreme Court…