VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 33.340
Second Degree Felony Homicide
The defendant is charged with the crime of felony homicide. The Commonwealth must prove
beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following elements of that crime:
(1) That the defendant killed (name of person); and
(2) That the killing was accidental and contrary to the intention of the defendant;
(3) That the killing was caused by acts performed in the commission of (name of felony) as that
crime is separately defined; and
(4) That the killing and (name of felony) were parts of one continuous transaction and were closely
related in time and place.
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 the 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 of felony homicide.
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
c6fddd3be3982fa3bff2aaf882e071e8ffdad7b2eed28d7f17edfa67076d66b3
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