VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 2.100
Reasonable Doubt and Presumption of Innocence
The defendant is presumed to be innocent. You should not assume the defendant is guilty
because the defendant has been charged and is on trial. This presumption of innocence remains
with the defendant throughout the trial and is enough to require you to find the defendant not
guilty unless and until the Commonwealth proves each and every element of the crime beyond a
reasonable doubt. This does not require proof beyond all possible doubt, nor is the Commonwealth
required to disprove every conceivable circumstance of innocence. However, suspicion or
probability of guilt is not enough for a conviction.
There is no burden on the defendant to produce any evidence.
A reasonable doubt is a doubt based on your sound judgment after a full and impartial
consideration of all the evidence in the case.
History
Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Criminal, Release 26, October 2025. 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
- crim-2025-10-01
- Content hash
5fb760bc53bc9365b972f037d7e3e853614103300f55b93eae20bae41d308c74
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