Docket nos. 85-6461 | Location United States of America | |
Full case name Earline Martin, Petitioner v. Ohio Citations 480 U.S. 228 (more)
107 S. Ct. 1098; 94 L. Ed. 2d 267; 1987 U.S. LEXIS 933 Majority White, joined by Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor, Scalia Dissent Powell, joined by Brennan, Marshall (in full); Blackmun (as to Parts I and III) | ||
Martin v. Ohio, 480 U.S. 228 (1987), is a criminal case in which the United States Supreme Court held that the presumption of innocence requiring prosecution to prove each element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt only applies to elements of the offense, and does not extend to the defense of justification, whereby states could legislate a burden on the defense to prove justification. The decision was split 5-4. The decision does not preclude states from requiring such a burden on the prosecution in their laws.
References
Martin v. Ohio Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA