Leland v. Oregon
| Leland v. Oregon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||
| Argued January 29, 1952 Decided June 9, 1952 |
|||||
| Full case name | Leland v. Oregon | ||||
| Citations | 343 U.S. 790 (more)
72 S. Ct. 1002; 96 L. Ed. 1302; 1952 U.S. LEXIS 1955
|
||||
| Prior history | Appeal from the Supreme Court of Oregon | ||||
| Holding | |||||
| The Court upheld the constitutionality of placing the burden of persuasion on the defendant when they argue an insanity defense in a criminal trial. | |||||
| Court membership | |||||
|
|||||
| Case opinions | |||||
| Majority | Clark, joined by Vinson, Reed, Douglas, Jackson, Burton, Minton | ||||
| Dissent | Frankfurter, joined by Black | ||||
Leland v. Oregon, 343 U.S. 790 (1952), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the constitutionality of placing the burden of persuasion on the defendant when they argue an insanity defense in a criminal trial.[1]
The defendant was convicted of killing a fifteen-year-old girl in Multnomah County. After being arrested for auto theft, the defendant asked for a homicide officer, verbally confessed to the murder, took the police to the scene of the crime, and signed a written confession. After being indicted, he then spoke to a lawyer for the first time. At trial, a jury convicted him and recommended the death penalty.
Oregon law required the defendant required proof of insanity beyond a reasonable doubt. The case claimed that the "statute in effect requires a defendant pleading insanity to establish his innocence by disproving beyond a reasonable doubt elements of the crime necessary to a verdict of guilty, and that the statute is therefore violative of that due process of law secured by the Fourteenth Amendment."
References
- ↑ Bonnie, R.J. et al. Criminal Law, Second Edition. Foundation Press, New York, NY: 2004, p. 541
