What is the burden of proving a defendant's mental state in a murder trial?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Brooks, 185 Cal.App.3d 687, 230 Cal.Rptr. 86 (Cal. App. 1986):
The defendant need only show affirmative evidence that he acted in the heat of passion. Where either the prosecution evidence or evidence presented by the defendant is sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt as to whether the killing was malicious, the prosecution bears the burden of persuading the jury as to the defendant's actual mental state. (People v. Hyde, supra, 166 Cal.App.3d 463, 475, 212 Cal.Rptr. 440.)
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