carella california argued april decided june appellant carella convicted california jury grand theft failure return rented car trial judge instructed jury person shall presumed embezzled vehicle returned within days rental agreement expiration date intent commit theft fraud presumed failure return property within days demand appellate department held presumptions valid even though prosecution acknowledged instructions imposed conclusive presumptions core elements crime violation due process clause held jury instructions violated due process clause fourteenth amendment instructions mandatory since understood reasonable jurors require find presumed facts state proved certain predicate facts thus directly foreclosed independent jury consideration whether facts proved established certain elements offenses carella charged relieved state burden winship proving evidence every essential element carella crime beyond reasonable doubt determination whether error harmless lower make first instance reversed remanded christopher cerf appointment argued cause pro hac vice filed briefs appellant arnold guminski argued cause appellee brief ira reiner harry sondheim william stephens filed brief american rental association amicus curiae urging affirmance per curiam march jury trial municipal beverly hills judicial district california appellant eugene carella convicted grand theft failure return rented car trial adopted prosecution requested instructions applying statutory presumptions cal veh code ann west cal penal code ann west specifically carella objection charged jury follows presumption respecting theft fraud intent commit theft fraud presumed one leased rented personal property another pursuant written contract fails return personal property owner within days owner made written demand certified registered mail following expiration lease rental agreement return property leased rented whenever person leased rented vehicle wilfully intentionally fails return vehicle owner within five days lease rental agreement expired person shall presumed embezzled vehicle app due process clause fourteenth amendment denies power deprive accused liberty unless prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt every element charged offense winship jury instructions relieving burden violate defendant due process rights see francis franklin sandstrom montana directions subvert presumption innocence accorded accused persons also invade task assigned solely juries criminal cases explained francis sandstrom courts ask whether presumption question mandatory whether specific instruction alone context overall charge understood reasonable jurors require find presumed fact state proves certain predicate facts see sandstrom supra prosecution understandably dispute instructions case phrased commands instructions explicit unqualified effect explained elsewhere jury charge merely permissive carella jury told first person shall presumed embezzled vehicle returned within days expiration rental agreement second intent commit theft fraud presumed failure return rented property within days demand mandatory directions directly foreclosed independent jury consideration whether facts proved established certain elements offenses carella charged instructions also relieved state burden proof articulated winship namely proving evidence every essential element carella crime beyond reasonable doubt two instructions violated fourteenth amendment state insists error event harmless similar cases decide issue sandstrom montana supra jury murder case instructed law presumes person intends ordinary consequences voluntary acts held jury might understood presumption conclusive shifting burden persuasion instruction constitutional error claim harmless error however even though jury might considered presumption conclusive remanded state consider issue chose rose clark said sandstrom error subject rule sandstrom error equivalent directed verdict state jury instructed presume malice predicate facts still must find existence facts beyond reasonable doubt connecticut johnson powell dissenting many cases predicate facts conclusively establish intent rational jury find defendant committed relevant criminal act intend cause injury event erroneous instruction simply superfluous jury found winship words every fact necessary establish every element offense beyond reasonable doubt rose supra citations omitted also observed although authority make determination ordinarily hence remanded case lower make determination first instance follow course reverse judgment california without deciding whether rational jury find predicate acts fail find fact presumed accordingly judgment appellate department reversed case remanded proceedings inconsistent opinion ordered footnotes california veh code ann reads whenever person leased rented vehicle wilfully intentionally fails return vehicle owner within five days lease rental agreement expired person shall presumed embezzled vehicle california penal code ann reads except provided section vehicle code intent commit theft fraud presumed one leased rented personal property another pursuant written contract fails return personal property owner within days owner made written demand certified registered mail following expiration lease rental agreement return property leased rented justice scalia justice brennan justice marshall justice blackmun join concurring judgment agree decision must reversed sensible permit state conduct analysis first instance write separately however implicitly acknowledged quoting passage rose clark see ante made explicit analysis applicable assessing mandatory conclusive presumption wholly unlike typical form analysis usual case harmlessness determination requires consideration trial record whole hasting order decide whether fact supported improperly admitted evidence event overwhelmingly established evidence see milton wainwright harrington california expansive inquiry error think important explain describe mode analysis appropriate mere citation rose inadequate ends since reasons shall describe infra case ambiguous disapproved use mandatory conclusive presumptions merely conflict overriding presumption innocence law endows accused sandstrom montana quoting morissette also invade factfinding function criminal case law assigns solely jury quoting gypsum constitutional right jury trial embodies profound judgment way law enforced justice administered duncan louisiana structural guarantee reflect fundamental decision exercise official power reluctance entrust plenary powers life liberty citizen one judge group judges defendant may assuredly insist upon observance guarantee even evidence overwhelming establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt found constitutionally impermissible judge direct verdict state see martin linen supply also carpenters treat harmless jury instruction mistakenly require express authorization ratification hold union criminally liable officers participation antitrust conspiracy regardless overwhelming evidence authorization ratification fact existed said matter strong evidence may association organization participation agents conspiracy must charge jury setting correctly limited liability act stat association organization acts agents judge may direct verdict guilty matter conclusive evidence way knowing whether jury verdict based facts within condemned instructions actual authorization ratification acts footnotes omitted principles necessarily circumscribe availability analysis jury instructed apply conclusive presumption judge present case instructed jury apply conclusive presumption carella embezzled rental car find blue eyes lives matter purposes assuring carella right whether record contained overwhelming evidence fact embezzled car nothing instruction directed jury even permitted consider apply evidence reaching verdict problem cured appellate determination record evidence unmistakably established guilt represent finding fact judges jury directed verdict error case wrong entity judged defendant guilty rose clark supra four members concluded much connecticut johnson plurality opinion considered whether harmless error instruct jury every person conclusively presumed intend natural necessary consequences act justice blackmun wrote plurality erroneous presumption disputed element crime renders irrelevant evidence issue jury may relied upon presumption rather upon evidence jury may failed consider evidence intent reviewing hold error contribute verdict fact reviewing may view evidence intent overwhelming simply irrelevant allow reviewing perform jury function evaluating evidence intent jury never may performed function give much weight society interest punishing guilty little weight method decisions guilt made footnotes omitted another basis finding instruction harmless explains holding two terms ago pope illinois although error instruction held harmless conclusive presumption rather misdescription element offense latter like former deprives jury factfinding role must analyzed similarly thus noted earlier misdescription element offense similarly held curable overwhelming record evidence guilt see carpenters supra convictions issue pope juries instructed apply community standar deciding whether allegedly obscene magazines taken whole lac serious literary artistic political scientific value citation omitted concluded however first amendment required different finding whether reasonable person find value material taken whole even though juries instructed make precise finding necessary convict defendants held error harmless joined opinion believed rational juror plausibly found magazines utterly lacking value community standard come different conclusion reasonable person standard see scalia concurring appropriate case similar analysis lead conclusion harmless error conclusive presumption predicate facts relied upon instruction facts necessarily found jury closely related ultimate fact presumed rational jury find facts without also finding ultimate fact making findings functionally equivalent finding element required presumed error harmless beyond reasonable doubt chapman california jury found facts necessary support conviction opinion discuss precedent relies exclusively upon citation quotation rose clark see ante case acknowledged possibility harmless error remanded determination issue respect instruction said state proven beyond reasonable doubt killing occurred presumed killing done maliciously presumption may rebutted explaining use impermissible presumption unlike granting directed verdict state circumstances deemed harmless error observed jury instructed presume malice predicate facts still must find existence facts beyond reasonable doubt many cases predicate facts conclusively establish intent rational jury find defendant committed relevant criminal act intend cause injury event jury found every fact necessary establish every element offense beyond reasonable doubt emphasis original even rose expansive description sort analysis available accepted regard type presumption issue case rebuttable presumption need reasons discussed accepted conclusive presumptions present case rose jury instructed regarding rebuttable presumption malice indeed compelled weigh relevant evidence decide whether presumption overcome made finding regarding elemental fact difficulty burden proof placed upon defendant rather state one thing say effect erroneous burden shifting disregarded record developed trial establishes guilt beyond reasonable doubt quite another say jury failure make factual determination elemental fact conclusive presumption resting upon findings establish beyond reasonable doubt elemental fact similarly disregarded reasons concur judgment sandstrom montana also cited see ante properly proposition need conduct analysis proposition analysis applicable sandstrom decline reach state claim flawed instruction constituted harmless error also defendant claim event unconstitutional jury instruction element crime never constitute harmless error