Court Opinion

ID: 9580635
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:07:03.76188+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:36:25.135199
License: Public Domain

Utter, J.
(concurring)—I concur in the holding of the majority opinion on its stated ground that "appellant has presented us with a record that is insufficient for our review . . ." This is the only ground stated necessary to the holding in the case. The recent case of Hankerson v. North Carolina, 432 U.S. 233, 53 L. Ed. 2d 306, 97 S. Ct. 2339 (1977), reaffirms the vitality of Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684, 44 L. Ed. 2d 508, 95 S. Ct. 1881 (1975) in its holding that due process requires the prosecutor to convince the fact finder in a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt as to all elements of the crime charged. It applies that rule retroactively, stating at page 242, the Mullaney rule, like that in In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 25 L. Ed. 2d 368, 90 S. Ct. 1068 (1970), "was designed to diminish the probability that an innocent person would be convicted and thus to overcome an aspect of a criminal trial that 'substantially impairs the truth-finding function.'"
Petition for rehearing denied November 30, 1977.