What is the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt against a defendant in a sexual assault case?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Whitfield, 27 Cal.Rptr.2d 858, 7 Cal.4th 437, 868 P.2d 272 (Cal. 1994):

Due process imposes a substantive bar against conviction unless the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt every fact constituting, in whole or in part, an element of a crime. This burden cannot be shifted to a defendant. (Patterson v. New York (1977) 432 U.S. 197, 204-205, 97 S.Ct. 2319, 2324, 53 L.Ed.2d 281.) The constitutional guaranty "requires the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt all of the elements included in the definition of the offense...." (Id. at p. 210, 97 S.Ct. at 2327.) The stricture of section 22, however, creates no due process violation.

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