Cage v. Louisiana

The motion of petitioner for leave to proceed informa pau-peris and the petition for a writ of certiorari are granted.

In state criminal trials, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment “protects the accused against conviction except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged.” In re Winship, 397 U. S. 358, 364 (1970); see also Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307, 315-316 (1979). This reasonable-doubt standard “plays a vital role in the American scheme of criminal procedure.” Winship, 397 U. S., at 363. Among other…