Title: Thibodeau v. State

State: south-dakota

Issuer: South Dakota Supreme Court

Document:

298 N.W.2d 818 (1980) Floyd John THIBODEAU, Petitioner and Appellant. v. STATE of South Dakota, Appellee. No. 13047. Supreme Court of South Dakota. Considered on Briefs September 12, 1980. Decided November 26, 1980. Thomas M. Frankman of Willy, Pruitt, Matthews, Hurd, Farrell, Frankman & Johnson, Sioux Falls, for petitioner and appellant. Mark Smith, Asst. Atty. Gen., Pierre, for appellee; Mark V. Meierhenry, Atty. Gen., Pierre, on the brief. PER CURIAM. Petitioner appeals from an order dismissing his petition for post-conviction relief. We affirm. Petitioner was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. See State v. Thibodeau, 89 S.D. 404, 233 N.W.2d 326 (1975). Jury Instruction Number 13 at petitioner's trial provided: Petitioner argues that the italicized portion of this instruction shifted the burden of proof of premeditated design to petitioner and created a conclusive presumption in violation of the due process clause. Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510, 99 S. Ct. 2450, 61 L. Ed. 2d 39 (1979). We considered an almost identical instruction in State v. Cody, 293 N.W.2d 440 (S.D.1980). We held: 293 N.W.2d at 451-452. See also State v. Nelson, 272 N.W.2d 817 (S.D.1978); Nelson v. Solem, D.C., 490 F. Supp. 481 (1980). We find no reason to deviate from this position. The order dismissing the petition for post-conviction relief is affirmed.