Pretrial Decisions—Preclusion of Proffered Defense

"In a criminal trial, the defendant bears the burden of proving an affirmative defense.  A court may determine whether an affirmative defense exists as a matter of law.  We review a district court's conclusions of law for correctness.  However, if there are conflicting facts regarding the availability of an affirmative defense in a criminal trial, the issue is properly submitted to a jury."  State v. Leprowse, 2009 MT 387, ¶ 11, 353 Mont. 312, 221 P.3d 648 (internal citations omitted).