Opinion ID: 1163346
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: jury instructions on the entrapment defense

Text: In Shrader v. State, 101 Nev. 499, 504, 706 P.2d 834, 837-38 (1985), we clarified the subject of which party bears the burden of proving or disproving the entrapment defense: We now hold that the `affirmative' nature of the [entrapment] defense merely requires the defendant to put forth evidence of governmental instigation. Thereafter it is incumbent upon the state to demonstrate the defendant's predisposition. Essentially, the defendant bears the burden of production on the first element, while the prosecution subsequently bears the burden of proof on the second element. In this case the district court instructed the jury that entrapment is an affirmative defense and one that a Defendant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence. This instruction shifted the burden of proof from the state to appellant on the issue of appellant's predisposition to commit the offense and, thus, does not conform to the law as announced in Shrader. We, therefore, conclude that reversal is warranted on this issue.