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Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684 (1975)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684 (1975)
Mullaney v. Wilbur No. 74-13 Argued January 15, 1975 Decided June 9, 1975 421 U.S. 684
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
Syllabus
The State of Maine requires a defendant charged with murder, which upon conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, to prove that he acted in the heat of passion on sudden provocation in order to reduce the homicide to manslaughter, in which case the punishment is a fine or imprisonment not exceeding 20 years.
Held: The Maine rule does not comport with the requirement of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt every fact necessary to constitute the crime charged, In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358. To satisfy that requirement, the prosecution in a homicide case in Maine must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the absence of the heat of passion on sudden provocation when the issue is properly presented. Pp. 691-704.
496 F.2d 1303, affirmed.
POWELL, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. REHNQUIST, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which BURGER, C.J., joined, post, p. 704.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684 (1975) in 421 U.S. 684 Original Sources, accessed May 19, 2024, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=Z3MPNVUD2R8SQTG.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684 (1975), in 421 U.S. 684, Original Sources. 19 May. 2024. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=Z3MPNVUD2R8SQTG.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684 (1975). cited in 1975, 421 U.S. 684. Original Sources, retrieved 19 May 2024, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=Z3MPNVUD2R8SQTG.
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