No. 20-266

Bradley Bieganski v. Arizona

Lower Court: Arizona
Docketed: 2020-09-02
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: affirmative-defense burden-of-proof child-molestation constitutional-limits criminal-statute due-process presumption-of-innocence sexual-intent
Key Terms:
DueProcess
Latest Conference: 2020-09-29
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether Arizona's molestation statute violates the Due Process Clause

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION PRESENTED States have wide latitude to define crimes and defenses. Nevertheless, “there are obviously constitutional limits beyond which the States may not go” in reallocating burdens of proof by labeling elements of an offense to be affirmative defenses that must be established by the defendant instead of by the prosecution. Patterson v. New York, 432 U.S. 197, 210 (1977). The question presented here is: Whether Arizona’s molestation statute -which presumes that anyone, including parents and foster parents like Petitioner, who bathe or diaper their children, is a child molester and then, through an affirmative defense, shifts the burden to parents to prove that any non-accidental touching lacked sexual motivation -violates the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution because it defies the presumption of innocence and absolves the prosecution of its constitutional burden to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, each substantive element of the offense. i

Docket Entries

2020-10-05
Petition DENIED.
2020-09-09
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2020.
2020-09-02
Waiver of right of respondent Arizona to respond filed.
2020-08-27
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 2, 2020)

Attorneys

Arizona
Linley Sarah WilsonOffice of the Arizona Attorney General, Respondent
Linley Sarah WilsonOffice of the Arizona Attorney General, Respondent
Bradley Bieganski
Erica T. DubnoFahringer & Dubno, Petitioner
Erica T. DubnoFahringer & Dubno, Petitioner