VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 3.300
Accessory After the Fact
The defendant is charged with being an accessory after the fact to the crime of (name of crime).
The Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following elements of that
crime:
(1) That some person other than defendant committed the crime of (name of crime); and
(2) That the (name of crime) was completed; and
(3) That the defendant knew or should have known that the person had committed the (name of
crime); and
(4) That the defendant comforted, relieved, hid, or in any other way assisted the person who
committed the (name of crime) with the intent of helping that person escape or delay capture,
prosecution or punishment.
If you find from the evidence that the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt
each of the above elements of the crime as charged, then you shall find the defendant guilty [but
you shall not fix the punishment until your verdict has been returned and further evidence has
been heard by you].
If you find that the Commonwealth has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any one or
more of the elements of the crime, then you shall find the defendant not guilty.
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
6ed0830cdc7ca8b99e8fd315710b0a5c62106f7118ccd4691ea157f66374339e
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