Sandstrom v. Montana
- Decided
- June 18, 1979
- Docket
- 78-5384
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 3,585 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- holding that federal constitution bars directed verdicts against defendants in criminal cases regardless of strength of state’s evidence — State v. Brown (1994)
- holding that federal constitution bars directed verdicts against defendants in criminal cases regardless of strength of state’s evidence — State v. Harris (1995)
- holding that “burden-shifting presumption[s]” or “conclusive presumption[s]” deprive a defendant of the “due process of law” and are therefore unconstitutional — State v. Belcher (2009)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*512] Mr. Justice Brennan delivered the opinion of the Court.
The question presented is whether, in a case in which intent is an element of the crime charged; the jury instruction, “the law presumes that a person intends the ordinary consequences of his voluntary acts,” violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s requirement that the State prove every element of a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt.
I
Cite this
Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510 (1979)Read the full opinion
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