Criminal Law - Larceny of Leased Property - Presumptions for Refusal to Return and Presentation of False Identification - L.B. 205 77th Neb. Leg. Sess. (1967)

Abstract

FIRST PARAGRAPH(S)|A fundamental principle of Anglo-American criminal justice is that a man is considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In most instances this requires that the accuser sustain the burden of proving such guilt by establishing that the accused committed the unlawful act, and that commensurate with such act, he possessed the requisite scienter peculiar to the crime. As might be anticipated, establishing scienter becomes quite difficult and often nearly impossible. The state legislatures have, in the last decade, attempted to alleviate some of the difficulties in this area by providing for a presumption of scienter. The form generally used in codifying such presumptions is to make the commission of the unlawful act prima facie evidence of an intent to commit the crime. The practical effect of using this particular device is to relieve the state of the burden of producing evidence of scienter and in its stead to place the burden on the accused to rebut the presumption.|One area in which this type of presumption has been effectively used is that of possession of stolen property. Under the proper circumstances, the possession of stolen property by the accused is prima facie evidence that he intended to steal the property. In reviewing the validity of the use of a presumption in this area, the Supreme Court of the United States has required only that there be a "rational connection" between the fact proved (the act committed) and the fact presumed (the scienter). It now appears that the presumption of scienter has been expanded further in the area of criminal law...