VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 33.670
Involuntary Manslaughter, Fentanyl
The defendant is charged with the crime of involuntary manslaughter. The Commonwealth
must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following elements of that crime:
(1) That the defendant unintentionally killed (name of person); and
(2) That the defendant [manufactured] [sold, not as an accommodation for another; distributed, not as
an accommodation for another] a controlled substance that contained a detectable amount of
fentanyl; and
(3) That the controlled substance was the proximate cause of the death of (name of person).
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
b2a30b574c30f46ca7be68343a9b230615785665a05d32e7f1776a48c5e1bc8a
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