The State of Washington, Respondent v. Alva Waster McCullum, Petitioner

Summary

The court held that when some evidence supports self-defense in a first-degree murder prosecution, the State must prove the absence of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. Because the jury instruction improperly placed a burden of persuasion on McCullum and the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, the court reversed his conviction and remanded for a new trial. Justice Dimmick, dissenting, would have affirmed because he viewed the issue as an unpreserved statutory-construction claim and would have placed the burden of producing sufficient self-defense evidence on the defendant.