Winship Larceny

“In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358 (1970), was a United States Supreme Court decision that held that when a juvenile is charged with an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult, every element of the offense must be proved beyond reasonable doubt, not preponderance of the evidence.” (In re Winship. n.d.). Samuel Winship, at the time was a 12-year-old boy who was arrested and charged as a juvenile delinquent. Winship was arrested because he broke into a woman’s locker and stole $112 dollars from her pocketbook. Winship was charged because if an adult would have stolen the money out of the pocketbook, it would be considered larceny. He was charged with preponderance of evidence, which means the defendant does nothing to defend their case.