Opinion ID: 379476
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Common Law Principles

Text: 132 The dissent argues that once a violation of any duty is demonstrated, even though no prejudice is shown, the government has the burden of showing that the defendant was not prejudiced. This shifting of the burden of proof from the proponent to the Government is inconsistent with common law principles. 21 In Nader v. Allegheny Airlines, Inc., 167 U.S.App.D.C. 350, 361, 512 F.2d 527, 538 (1975), rev'd on other grounds, 426 U.S. 290, 96 S.Ct. 1978, 48 L.Ed.2d 643 (1976) we delineated two criteria for allocating the burden of persuasion. 133 (1) Although a plaintiff generally carries the burden of persuasion on each element of his cause of action, special circumstances may lead a court to shift the burden of persuasion to the defendant on some part of the claim. (2) One special circumstance commonly accepted is that the burden will be shifted where the material necessary to prove or disprove an element lies particularly within the knowledge of the defendant. 134 167 U.S.App.D.C. at 361, 512 F.2d at 538. Thus, normally the burden should lie on the person pressing the claim; 22 an exception may be made when the other party has sole access to the facts. 135 In the instant case, Decoster has the primary access to the relevant facts; the government is highly restricted in its ability to discover them because of the attorney-client privilege and the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. Moreover, normally it is the defendant who raises the inadequate assistance of counsel claim (here it was raised by the appellate court sua sponte ). Therefore, the twin policies of placing the burden of proof on the person pressing the claim and placing the burden on the person with access to the facts are both satisfied by holding that Decoster bears the burden of proving a prima facie Sixth Amendment violation which includes a showing of prejudice. 136