State v. Jackson

I

In his first proposition of law, appellant argues that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the state from placing the burden of proving self-defense on the accused. Based upon our recent decision in State v. Martin (1986), 21 Ohio St. 3d 91, we find no merit in this assertion.

In Martin, supra, this court examined and analyzed the holdings of the United States Supreme Court and our own past holdings on this issue. We concluded that where the state is required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt every element of a crime as defined by statute, the defendant may fairly be…