VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Civ. No. 36.060
Burden of Proof: Affirmative Defense
The burden is on the plaintiff to prove [assault; battery; assault and battery] by a preponderance of
the evidence.
The burden is on the defendant to prove [self-defense; that he was making a lawful arrest] by a
preponderance of the evidence.
The greater weight of all the evidence is sometimes called the preponderance of the evidence.
It is that evidence which you find more persuasive, when evaluated against all the evidence that
has been admitted in the case. The testimony of one witness whom you believe can be the greater
weight of the evidence.
History
Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Civil, Release 26, April 2026. The unannotated set, posted by the Supreme Court of Virginia at vacourts.gov; the book states that it is made available with the permission of the publisher, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.
Provenance
- Source
- vacourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-11
- Edition
- civ-2026-04-01
- Content hash
8e6c0d1a6887510f82865231dcada73391c8e2c12c74a2075e4af534f53cf896
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