Miller v. Miller

Hunt, Justice.

This case hinges on the question whether the presumption of the legitimacy of a child born in wedlock shifts the ultimate burden of proof of legitimacy to a defendant-husband who denies paternity in a divorce action. Involved in the answer to that question is the distinction between shifting of the burden of going forward with evidence in rebuttal and shifting of the burden of persuasion, that is, the ultimate burden of persuading the trier of fact by demonstrating a preponderance of the evidence. The jury found that the husband was the father of the child and fixed support at…