A fight breaks out at a party, and Juan is severely injured. Jasmine and Jerome are arrested and charged for battering Juan. Jerome claims that hedid not touch Juan; someone elsebattered him. Jasmine claims that shedid not batter Juan because she was legally defending herself against Juan’sattack. Jerome’s claim focuses on the elements of battery and asserts that these elements cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Technically, Jerome can do nothing and be acquitted if the prosecution fails to prove that he was the criminal actor. Jasmine’s self-defense claim is an affirmative defense. Jasmine must do something to be acquitted: she must prove that Juan attacked herto a certain evidentiary standard.
Burden ofProofforAffirmative Defenses
As stated in The Legal System in the United States, states vary as to their requirements for the defendant’s burden of proof when asserting an affirmative defense. 1 Different defenses also have different burdens of proof. Some states require the defendant to meet the burden of production, but require the prosecution to thereafter meet the burden of persuasion, disproving the defense to a preponderance of evidence, or in some states, beyond a reasonable doubt. Other states require the defendant to meet the burden of production and the burden of persuasion. In s uch states, the defendant’s evidentiary standard is preponderance of evidence, not beyond a reasonable doubt. In the example given in Example of an Affirmative Defense, for Jasmine’s self-defense claim, Jasmine must prove she was defending herself by meeting either the burden of production or the burden of production and persuasion to a preponderance of evidence, depending on the jurisdiction.
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