What is the burden of proving a defendant guilty of a sexual assault?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Lopez, 2d Crim. No. B267494 (Cal. App. 2018):
The prosecution is required to prove every fact necessary to establish a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. (Sullivan v. Louisiana (1993) 508 U.S. 275, 277-278.) The omission of a single element of an offense impermissibly relieves the prosecution of this burden, and intrudes on the exclusive province of the jury to decide the facts, in violation of the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights. (Id. at p. 277 [court may not direct a verdict for the prosecution no matter how overwhelming the evidence].)
A jury instruction omitting an essential element from the jury's consideration requires reversal unless the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. (People v. Merritt (2017) 2 Cal.5th 819, 821-822 [failure to instruct on elements of a charged
Page 4
"The most advanced legal research software ever built."
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.
