Billy Brantley v. State of Indiana

I agree with the majority that the State did not properly obtain its conviction. Article 1, Section 19 of the Indiana Constitution protects the province of the jury in criminal trials, allocating to the jury the right to determine the law and the facts. Keller v. State, 47 N.E.3d 1205, 1208 (Ind. 2016). Here, the province of the jury was invaded by a fundamentally erroneous instruction attempting to relieve the State of its burden of proof. However, unlike the majority, I believe that retrial is permissi*405ble, in light of the evidence of sudden heat. Where a burden-shifting instruction has…