State v. Moore

Nichols, Chief Justice.

James Moore was convicted of robbery and on appeal the Court of Appeals, in a divided opinion, reversed such conviction upon the ground that the court’s instruction placed the burden of persuasion upon the defendant as to his purported defense of coercion. This court granted certiorari.

1. The issue here is whether a jury instruction placing any burden of persuasion upon a defendant in a criminal case violates substantive due process. Historically the defendant carried this burden in *270asserting an affirmative defense and we find no error in the charge in this case.…