VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 33.850
Accidental Killing
Where the defense is that the killing was an accident, the defendant is not required to prove
this fact. The burden is on the Commonwealth to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the killing
was not accidental. If, after considering all the evidence, you have a reasonable doubt whether the
killing was accidental or intentional, 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
72e87dda4e70957e0a7de1ad5fce3bfd17cf93f8b7731b9e171a76f9b484112a
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