Christian McGee, Petitioner v. State of Alaska, Respondent

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court held that the State, not McGee, bore the burden of disproving necessity beyond a reasonable doubt because the criminal mischief statute makes the absence of any reasonable ground to believe the defendant had a legal right to damage property an element of the offense. The court further held that this statutory requirement encompasses reasonable grounds based on legal justifications such as necessity, and that McGee presented sufficient evidence to place necessity in issue. Because the burden-shifting instruction was not harmless, the court reversed McGee's conviction and remanded. Justice Matthews, dissenting, agreed with the burden allocation but would have affirmed because McGee's evidence did not support a necessity instruction and any instructional error was harmless.